Complications
by HiddenAuthor
Summary: Danny Fenton’s already complicated life is about to get even worse.  Longer Summary Inside. Rated T for Safety
1. Checkups

Complications

Danny Fenton's already complicated life is about to get even worse. First, his powers are going through a rapid increase, leaving him constantly fighting for control. Next, an old "ghostly" friend shows up, demanding he attend an audience before the Ghost Council. Then, to top things off, the mayor issues a fifty thousand dollar bounty, payable to the first person to capture the infamous ghost-boy. Between evil puberty, ghost politics, and his parents' constant patrols, will Danny survive with secret and sanity intact?

Prolog – Author Stuff

Disclaimer: I am not Butch Hartman and am not otherwise affiliated with Nick Studios. I just want to borrow their characters for a bit so I can write a cool story.

Hey, readers. I'm HiddenAuthor and I just thought I'd take halfa chapter to get some things out in the open. First, this is my first fanfic. I'm not asking for special treatment or sugar-coated reviews, though, I value honesty too much for that. Second, I already have most of this story floating around in my head somewhere, so while I am interested and may work in speculations and suggestions on where this story is heading, please don't be offended if I don't act on them. Third, I intend for the most part to write this story all at once, because while I understand and appreciate the one-chapter-at-a-time method, I don't have the patience for it. I don't plan on posting it all at once, though, mostly because I do want feedback, and this site is updated so much that I will have to post over time to keep this story near the first page.

I don't know if this story will be a one-time thing or not; this is my first attempt at something like this. If I find that I enjoy writing fanfics, I'll be back with other stories. I will promise right now that I will finish this piece, because I hate to see a story go unfinished, regardless of quality.

I'll close with some general comments: A lot of you guys ROCK! I've been anonymously visiting for a while now, and many of you have incredible talent. I'm a particular fan of "Gender Confusion." The concept of a two-person love rectangle is captivating, innovative and hilariously dramatic. So many good stories pop up on this site, and at the risk of sounding pompous, which is NOT my intention, I can only give blanket encouragement: Don't give up! Don't let a good story go unfinished, no matter what. Facts aside, there is more truth to be found in the poorest work of fiction than in any encyclopedia.

Peace Out

Chapter 1- Checkups

"Hmm…oops, too far…there. Height five feet seven inches, weight one hundred forty-eight pounds. You can step down now and follow me, Danny." The nurse spoke aloud as she scribbled notes on her soft pink clipboard. Quickly jotting down her initials at the bottom, she replaced her pen at the top and led a bored-looking dark-haired teenager down a genaricly painted hallway to the nearest open room and closed the door.

"Right, now put this under your tongue and we'll take a look in two minutes, okay?" she asked. The boy nodded and stuck the thermometer in his mouth.

Danny Fenton sat on the paper covered exam couch and sighed to himself. Every year before school started, his parents made him and his sister get a checkup at the local doctor's. Still, he supposed it was nice to know they cared. According to the nurse, Danny had grown three inches and gained about ten pounds since last year. Not exactly a growth spurt, but Danny was more confused than annoyed. He'd seen his future self, after all, and if that was any indication (besides the evil thing), Danny was supposed to end up north of six and a half feet tall. He didn't feel let down or anything, but if he was supposed to end up looking something like his evil self, he'd rather things were spread out a bit, and didn't happen all at once at the last minute.

Meeting your future self may seem really odd, but it was a relatively normal situation for Danny. Danny had ghost powers, and a second identity, Danny Phantom, to go with them. His parents were talented inventors who had dedicated their lives to hunting and studying ghosts. Almost a year ago, Danny had been involved in an accident in their basement lab and was infused with ectoplasm on a molecular level. It had taken weeks to figure out what had happened, and months to gain some amount of control, but the end result was that Danny had ghost powers. At first he had been terrified and embarrassed, desperately trying to keep himself from falling through floors or turning invisible. But, after ghosts began appearing in town and attacking his home and school, Danny decided in true comic book fashion to use his abilities to fight the ghosts on their level and send them back where they came from.

As much as he wanted to help people, Danny didn't want to be seen as a freak or shipped off to some government lab for 'lots and lots of really painful experiments', so he never told anyone about his powers. His best friends Sam and Tucker knew because they had (caused) been with him when the accident happened, and his sister had caught him on her own, but had kept his secret and even helped him on occasion. So far no one in Amity Park had realized that Phantom and Fenton looked and sounded almost the same, except for the hair and eye colors and a slight echo. Sometimes Danny wondered if his parents' lab was leaking some sort of brain-damaging gas, but usually he figured that since no one thought a half-ghost could exist, they just ignored the signs.

"Alright, Danny, it's been two minutes. I'll just get a temperature." Danny's thoughts were interrupted as the nurse picked up the thermometer and held it up to her eyes. "That's strange. The thermometer reads ninety-four degrees. Are you feeling alright?"

Danny kept his face completely still as his head started racing. '_Oh god, I forgot my temperature is lower than normal now. What will she think? What should I say? How can I explain this?'_

"I-I'm feeling fine. My temperature's always like that. Totally normal! Yeah…" _'Smooth. Well, it's not like I could fool a _professional_. She'd figure it out and then ask why I lied about it. Maybe there's a simpler answer than "ghost powers," and she'll come up with a cover story for me.'_

"I didn't know you had a below-average body temperature, Danny," the nurse said conversationally. "My daughter's is ninety-six. I'll make sure a note gets sent to your school about this."

"Gulp…Why?" Danny was now trying _very_ hard not to panic. Was this some horrible medical problem that would draw attention from doctors and nurses? Danny didn't think a routine checkup would turn up any signs of his new half-ghost status, which is why he hadn't tried to get out of it this year, but what if they wanted him to take more tests? He was sure a blood test would turn up _something_, and everyone would find out!

"In case you get sick of course." The nurse gave Danny a re-assuring smile. "If your average temp is below normal, the nurse there needs to know, so she'll know that a ninety-eight for you is actually a fever. You can go just as soon as I get some cardio and reflexes." Fortunately, these turned up normal, and Danny was sent home, practically collapsing from relief. Apparently lower body temperatures weren't a serious problem, after all. The last thing he needed was for someone to start paying real attention to him, and blowing his secret.

With nothing else to do for a few hours, Danny settled down in his room and played Doomed. With Sam's help, he'd gotten a lot better, and had actually beaten the game on his own once. Today he didn't really feel motivated, so he spent an hour or so torching noobs and called it a day.

Later that afternoon Sam and Tucker came over and the three went down to the lab to hang out. "Danny, you sure your parents aren't home?" Samantha Manson was a fifteen-year-old goth vegetarian with rich uptight parents. She'd known Danny since elementary school, and they'd always been close friends. She was very assertive and believed that everyone should be as unique as possible. Whenever Danny felt isolated or ashamed because of his powers, a simple "different is good" comment from Sam would always cheer him up. Lately, though, their relationship had been a bit strained. Sam and Danny both had very strong feelings for each other. In fact, there were at least five running bets at school over if and when they would officially hook up. But neither Danny or Sam seemed ready to take the next step. They both wanted to be closer, they were just too afraid to try dating because they thought that if things didn't work out they might lose what they already had together. Besides, Tucker teased them enough already.

"Sam relax, I sent them an anonymous tip that 'Inviso-Bill' was haunting the downtown mall. They won't be back for hours." Tucker, a techno-savvy fifteen-year-old meat connoisseur, just grinned. The three had been planning this afternoon ever since Danny's checkup date was scheduled, and it had been Tucker's idea to use Danny's alter-ego as bait to get his parents out of the house. Tucker had known Danny even longer than Sam, and the two had always shared everything. Maybe that was why he'd had so many jealosy issues over Danny's powers at first. Since last year, he'd gotten over that for the most part, and wasn't above admitting that his friend's regular ghost beatings had helped. Who wanted ghost powers just so you could get beat up by ghosts, right? Lately, he'd been doing his best to help Danny in any way he could, including with Sam. Tucker would never understand why his two friends refused to date. They were perfect for each other. He knew that he'd be a third wheel once they started going out, but figured in the end everyone would be happier for it. Besides, he stood to make at least $300 if he could get them to go official before spring break.

"Is everything set up, Danny?"

"Yeah, Tuck, everything's ready. Let's get started," Danny said as he changed into his ghost form. He shot Sam an appreciative glance. "By the way, Sam, I still think it was a great idea to give my ghost powers a checkup today, too. It's not exactly something a nurse would ask about."

Sam smiled back, and blushed slightly. "Yeah, well, I just thought you were due for a check. We haven't done this since school let out, and you were just starting to show some progress with duplication."

"Thinking two Danny's are better than one, Sam?"

"Tucker!" Both Sam and Danny were bright red. "He needs that trick to fight Plasmius! Now quit with the jokes. You've got the list, start running the tests."

Tucker just grinned. "Alright, invisibility…" Danny disappeared. "Check."

"Intangibility…"Tucker threw a paperweight at Danny's head, and he phased at the last second. "Whoa!"

"Check."

"I'll get you for that, Tucker." Danny's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Yeah, yeah. Overshadowing…"

Danny immediately flew into Tucker's body. Tucker then pulled out a video camera, did several graceful ballet twirls, and confessed his love of the telletubbies. Danny then flew out of Tucker and gave Sam the camera.

"Hey! Give me that!" Sam just grinned at Tucker.

"You can have it back for Christmas. Until then, your life is ours."

"Yeah, Tucker. No more chucking things at my head."

"No more lovebird jokes."

"And no more bad singing." Realizing they spoke that last at the same time, both Danny and Sam broke out in huge blushes. Tucker chuckled to himself.

Out loud, "Check on overshadowing. Next, we'll check flight speed. Go!"

Tucker pulled out a radar as Danny flew in a circle. "Wow, two hundred miles an hour! That's way faster than last time! Okay, now energy rays, shields, and Sam's new favorite, duplication."

In quick succession, Danny shot a ray at the far wall, put up a shield dome, and…

"Hah! I did it! There's two of me!" Both Danny's had huge grins on their faces as they joined back together. Danny immediately turned green. "Whoa, head rush. Two sets of memories from two angles. That could take some getting used to."

"Still, at least you finally got that one to work. Now you only need to do it two more times to face Vlad."

"Thanks for reminding me, Tuck. You really know how to cheer a guy up."

"That's it for the checklist so – what, Sam?"

"Well, there is one other thing we could check. Remember when Gregor transferred here?"

"You mean Elliot? What does he have to do with anything, Sam?" Danny was still angry about how that jerk had taken advantage of Sam. Even if he didn't have other, confusing feelings about her, he definitely cared and hated to see her so hurt.

"Nothing, Danny. Relax. But while he was here, those government guys referred to you as a Class 7 ghost."

"So?"

"_So_, I did some research on the Guys in White, and found out they have a system for classifying ghosts based on overall power. It's a lot like the pH scale, actually. A class 2 ghost is ten times as powerful as a class 1, instead of twice as powerful. A class 3 is ten times as powerful as a class 2, and so on. There are supposed to be millions of ghosts, but most of them are ones and twos, so they aren't even able to form bodies and stuff."

"That's actually kind of interesting Sam, but what does that have to do with our checkup?" Tucker seemed interested, but confused. "And how did you get this info anyway?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "It's a government program, Tucker. Even if they hid the information, it's public access, so it's not like I had to hack their systems or anything. Besides, public awareness only helps them keep up with the ghosts, so they keep a lot of files in the open. And, I brought it up be_cause_," Sam pulled a package out of her back pocket with a flourish, "After I found out about the scale, I managed to 'find' a GIW ectometer. It's the device they use to measure ecto-energy levels. And don't even ask, Tuck. I'm not saying how I got it, and you really don't want to know."

The three friends gathered around a lab table as Sam unwrapped the ectometer. "It looks sort of like a camera phone. How does it work?" Danny looked at Tucker and Sam. Sam didn't look like she knew, but Tucker was more into technology anyway.

"It looks like a point-and-click. Here, let me try." Tucker picked up the small meter and pressed a button on its side. It beeped and numbers began appearing on the screen. "Okay, it's on, now hold still, Danny." Tucker pointed the small device at Danny and pushed another button. The machine beeped again. "Well, I guess it worked. Take a look Sam, you did the research. Do those numbers make sense to you?" Tucker said. He carefully placed the device back on the table.

Sam looked at the reading and gave a start. "7.2? Danny, that's way higher than it should be!"

"How do you know that? You've never even used one of these before."

"It was in the Guys in White's stuff. They have a file on you." Sam explained, pulling out a printed sheet. "'Danny Phantom. Location: Amity Park. Power Class: 6.98 as of 5/05/06. Current Power Class is estimated at 7.01 based on current average ecto-energy growth rate of subject.' According to their charts, you shouldn't reach 7.2 for at least three more years!"

"Oh. Well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about Sam. The Guys in White aren't exactly geniuses. They probably messed up their charts or something." Danny did look nervous, though. "Maybe it's because of all the ghost fighting. Or from being half-ghost. The Guys in White don't know about that."

"Yeah, it's probably nothing to worry about." Tucker didn't look convinced, either.

Danny cleared his throat. "Look guys, it's getting close to dinner time and I still have school shopping this weekend. See you on Monday?"

"Sure, man. I should go home, too. We're having steak for dinner." Tucker took off upstairs, already licking his lips. Sam suppressed a shudder.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay, Danny?" Sam shot him a concerned look.

"I feel fine, Sam." It wasn't a lie. Danny didn't feel sick or anything. He just hoped she believed him, he hated seeing her worry. "You should get home, too. I don't want your parents to have any reason to try that restraining order again. Not that it stopped me from visiting, but sneaking into you house while invisible just felt kinda wrong, you know?"

"Right. Just…be careful, okay? Let me know if anything's wrong. I worry about you, Danny." Sam gave him a half smile, and started up the stairs. "By the way, you can keep the ectometer. Try it again in a month or so, to check your progress. Maybe we can figure out what the Guys in White got wrong." With that, Sam left the basement and headed home.

Danny sighed and changed back into his human form before heading upstairs. He met his parents by the front door. "Hey guys, any luck catching ghosts?"

Danny tried hard not to chuckle. He knew they hadn't found him at the mall; after all, he'd been in the basement. His parents still had no idea that their son and the ghost they were always hunting were the same person. He thought they probably would have been suspicious by now if it weren't for that disastrous Fenton Ghost-Catcher incident. Seeing human him and ghost him at the same time helped his secret a great deal. Even though they were so obsessed with catching his ghost half, Danny had thought about telling them the truth more and more since Freakshow had been returned to prison. He knew that they would accept him now, but he was worried about the security risk. His father was a smart man, but he tended to blather and wasn't very good with secrets. He could probably trust his mother, but she would want to know everything. Once he told her about Vlad, she would start treating him differently and he would find out for sure. So, Danny had decided to keep his secret a little longer; at least until the Vlad situation sorted itself out. _'That fruitloop is just too dangerous to take chances.'_

"No son that darn ghost kid gave us the slip again! But don't worry, we'll catch him soon and tear him apart molecule by molecule!"

"Now Jack, you know you can't just go around destroying ghosts." Danny smiled inside at how understanding his mother was being. "First we have to strap them down and dissect them. How else are we going to learn anything?" His smile died instantly. _'I really can't let them catch me until I tell them my secret. Otherwise, they might kill me before I get the chance!'_

"S-so, uh, what's for dinner?"

"Sorry sweetie, but Jack and I spent so much time hunting Inviso-Bill (Danny winced at the name) that we don't have time now to cook dinner. So, we'll use the new ecto-microwave to cook leftovers!"

"Oh! Well, that's okay, I wasn't really that hungry anyway." Danny lied as he tried to keep his stomach from growling. The last thing he needed right now was to fight off possessed hotdogs. "I'll just go to bed. Bye!"

Danny rushed upstairs before his parents could offer more food. He was just about to go to his room when his sister Jazz stuck her head into the hallway. "Danny! I was hoping we'd get to talk while mom and dad were busy. Did the checkup go okay? Nothing spooky show up?" Danny was glad his sister knew his secret. Not only did it give him someone besides his two best friends to talk to, it also gave him backup at home. Danny didn't think he would have made it this long without Jazz making excuses for his absenses, or for all of the ghost-trackers that seemed to go off whenever Danny walked by. Sure, she could still be annoying and overprotective sometimes, but she really cared about him and her approval meant more to him than she would ever know.

"No, Jazz, nothing…um…'spooky'." Danny had to grin at the choice of words. Jazz was good at that sort of thing. "They're sending a note to school to let the nurse know my average temperature is 94 instead of 98. But they didn't seem too wierded out, so I guess it's not that unusual."

"Hmm. Sorry, I should have remembered the temperature thing. Oh, well. Ninety-four is a bit low, but like you said, it's not that unusual, so they probably won't make a big deal out of it. Just don't tell dad, he'd probably think you're a ghost or something." Chuckling slightly, Jazz slipped back into her room.

Grinning at the joke, Danny walked the rest of the way to his room and closed his door. It had been a long day, so he dropped the ectometer on his bedside table and fell asleep almost immediately. There weren't any ghost attacks, so the night passed quietly for once, except for an occasional beep.

'7.21, 7.22…'


	2. Control Issues

Chapter 2 – Control Issues

"Kids, get up! We've got a lot of shopping to do today!" Maddie Fenton's voice rang through the house. "Hurry up, the stores all close early on Sunday!"

Danny tossed and turned in his sleep, feeling extremely comfortable. At the sound of his mother's voice, he groaned and stretched. Groggily he reached his hands up and rubbed his eyes, then opened them to his customary view of…

His bedroom floor?

"Ahh!" Danny fell out of the air and hit the floor hard. "Ow! What the heck was that?" Flying in ghost mode was normal enough for him, but he'd never levitated while human before, let alone while asleep. "Great. Now I can't even sleep at night without floating all over the place! How am I supposed to keep this quiet?"

"Danny? Are you okay?" His older sister Jazz had been passing by his door and heard him shout. She quickly stepped into his room and closed the door behind her, looking around the room for signs of a ghost attack. "What's going on? Why'd you scream?"

"I'm fine, Jazz. I just fell out of bed…sorta." Danny mumbled, rubbing his head and wincing slightly.

"Danny, your bed is on the other side of the room." Jazz shot him a questioning look.

"I know. I was kind of…floating around before I woke up." Danny looked up at her sheepishly. Jazz's lips twitched. She looked like she wasn't sure if she should be concerned or burst out laughing. "Thanks for the support. It's not as if mom or dad couldn't have just walked in at any time or anything. How am I supposed to sleep?"

"Uhh, maybe…m-maybe," Jazz was starting to choke up," a h-harness? Hahaha ha haha!" Jazz was keeling over with laughter, gasping for breath. "I'm s-sorry Danny, I know this is serious, it's just the idea of you f-falling…out…the air… and…boom!"

"Yeah Jazz, there's nothing funnier than a head injury. I'll just get ready now, okay? If I hit my head again, I'll be sure to let you know." With that, Danny grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the shower. Laughter now under control, Jazz continued downstairs and grabbed a bagel and cream cheese in the kitchen.

Danny came down twenty minutes later, looking a bit nonplussed. He grabbed a piece of toast and shot Jazz a meaningful look. They were just getting ready to go when Jack came bursting through the basement door.

"Danny, Jazz! Take a look at my coolest invention ever! The Fenton Ghost-Gooper! It'll latch on to and disrupt the form of any ghost it's touching, causing them to melt into a puddle of ectoplasmic goo!" Jack pulled a coin-shaped device out of his pocket and showed it off, grinning from ear to ear. It was about the size of a half dollar, but it flickered with a dangerous green light.

Maddie cut in, "Of course, once it stops touching, the ghost can recorporiate, but this will make it much easier to study what they're made of! And it's safer to go hunting with these, since missing won't put holes in the sides of buildings _and_ it only takes one hit to completely disable the ghost!"

"Which is why," Jack picked up, "your mother and I want you two to carry one of these everywhere you go. You still can't take the blasters, because somebody," he shot Maddie a glare, "thinks they're too dangerous, but you can use these to totally destroy any ghost you meet! Here you go, kids!" With that, he flicked two of the little coins at Jazz and Danny.

Thinking fast, Jazz quickly sidestepped and caught one in each hand, then turned around to face a very pale Danny. "Thanks Dad. Now Danny, I know how much you hate carrying our parents' ghost stuff around, but with all the attacks lately, you should listen to them and hold onto this thing. Even _I'm _going to keep mine. So just to make sure you keep it close…" Jazz stuck it in Danny's front right pocket, careful to avoid touching his skin, then plastered on a bossy big sister face. "There! And don't even think about getting rid of it. It's for your own good."

"Whatever, Jazz." Danny said in an annoyed brother voice, while sending Jazz a big thank you with his eyes, face still very pale.

"Err..now that that's settled, where are we shopping today?" Jazz asked, facing her parents with a nervous smile.

"Well sweetie, you and your brother will need to pick up any last minute school supplies for tomorrow, and your father and I need some more parts for our inventions. So I suppose we should all go to-"

"Wait mom! If you and dad are going to a different store than Danny and me, why don't we go separately? Danny can ride with me to the mall, and you and dad can go electronics shopping together."

"That's a great idea, Jazzypants! Quick Maddie, to the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle!" Without another word, Jack rushed out through the door. Half a second later, the suped-up weaponized SUV roared to life.

Maddie sighed, torn between amusement and exasperation. "Ok, you two, if that's what you want. We expect you home no later than six. Remember, school starts tomorrow." Once everything was settled, the three of them left the house; Maddie towards the GAV, Danny and Jazz to her car.

The siblings stood outside Jazz's car and watched as the GAV drove out of sight. "Okay, Jazz. Thanks for the huge save, but now that we're alone, please GET THAT THING OUT OF MY POCKET!"

"Okay, Danny, no problem." Jazz reached back into Danny's pocket and pulled out the Ghost-Gooper. "You know mom and dad mean well. They just want you to be safe." Jazz sat down in the driver's seat and turned the ignition. Danny slid into the passenger's seat and started rubbing his temples.

"I know, I know. But I've already been melted once this year, and I _never_ want that to happen again. I just wish mom and dad would stop hunting me, or ghost me anyway."

Jazz frowned as they pulled into the street. "That reminds me. Why did you erase mom and dad's memories after the Freakshow thing anyway? They both accepted you, and I don't think they would have hunted you anymore."

"I'm sure they wouldn't. It's just… _I_ wasn't ready. When the time is right, I want to be the one to tell them. _On_ _purpose_, not by accident. Besides, there's still a problem with Vlad. My secret wasn't out long enough last time for him to really do much, but I know he wouldn't just take that lying down. I don't want to put you guys in danger like that." This was why Danny liked having Jazz to talk to. As much as he teased her about her habit of analyzing everybody, he had to admit she was good at helping him sort things out. Sam and Tucker were better with his daily frustrations, but Jazz was best at getting him to talk things out and get his head straight.

"Well, from all the stories you've told me, this isn't exactly the first time they found out. They never attacked you any of those times, either."

"Yeah. But the first time, in the alternate future, you guys were gagged and attacked by a future version of me. Even if mom and dad could talk, I don't think they were feeling too positive about me being part ghost. And the second time, when I changed Vlad's college accident, they accepted me, but everything was just so _different_. Me being part ghost wasn't nearly as weird as the fact that I existed at all! This time over the summer was the first time that mom and dad from _this_ reality were given a decent chance to react, and it was the first time I actually _knew _they would accept me. I'll admit, each time helped me get used to the idea a little more, but there are still a few things I need to sort out before I tell them for real. Most involving how Vlad will react. You _know_ how dangerous he is, Jazz."

"Yeah, Danny. I know." After Vlad found out Jazz knew and was helping Danny, he actually tried to _kill_ her. She had played it cool when they faced him, but Jazz still had nightmares about it. "Do you have any ideas on how to deal with him?"

Danny leaned his head against the window pane. "No clue. He's strong, Jazz, and he's had twenty years to work on his powers. I'm still just learning what mine _are_."

The phrasing of that last statement seemed a bit off to Jazz. Suddenly it clicked. "Danny? When you came downstairs you shot me this look. What was that about?"

"Well… this morning, when I was in the shower, I started to relax under the water, and suddenly, I was sort of on the roof."

"The roof." Jazz's mouth twitched. "Sooo, you were on the roof… _naked_…." Suddenly Jazz cracked up. This seemed to be becoming her standard reaction to Danny's problems, lately.

"It's not funny, Jazz!" Danny looked pained. "I don't even know how it happened! I tried to do… whatever I did… again, but I couldn't, so I had to phase back down into the shower. I don't get it! First the floating, then the shower thing, and Sam's freaking out over this Guys in White thing, and-"

"Whoa, whoa. Hold it, Danny! What Guys in White thing? They're not on your tail again, are they?" Jazz shot Danny a slightly panicked look. Both Jazz and Danny knew after the Freakshow incident that the Guys in White wouldn't care that Danny was still human; they would still hunt him down and take him in for testing. This was apparently the perfect thing to say to kill her 'Danny naked on the roof' buzz.

"Calm down Jazz, it's nothing like that. Sam managed to do some research on them, and found a way to measure ecto-energy. According to their charts, my reading is higher than it should be, and we can't figure out why."

"Really? Hmm… hey, Danny, do you think your problems might be related? You know, you having more energy than normal, and then suddenly losing some control? It makes sense." Jazz hit the left blinker and turned into the Amity Park Mall lot.

"I guess that does kinda make sense. I'll just be extra careful for a while, and see if things quiet down on their own. I mean, what else can I do? It's not like ghost powers come with an 800 number." Danny and Jazz stepped out of the car and locked up. "So, where to?"

"Well, I need to stop by Barriers to pick up some new psychology texts that came out this month, and then I thought I'd stop by Old Army for some new shirts. You?"

"Old Army for me, too. Then, I was thinking of going to, uh, Hot Story." Danny mumbled and blushed slightly.

"Thinking to impress a certain Goth?" Jazz smirked. Danny's face turned an even deeper shade of red.

"N-no! I just thought some of the things she's always wearing looked cool, that's all. Besides, I'm dressed in black half the time now anyway."

"Yeah. Uh-huh, whatever, Danny. Let's go our separate ways, and meet up in Old Army in _half an hour_, okay? Oh, and I recommend a necklace. It'd be a bit obvious and kind of strange if you suddenly started wearing spiked chokers and thick chains."

"Oh. Uh, right." Danny's fading blush flared back up. "I'll just go do that, then. Yeah." Without another word, Danny took off towards Hot Story and Jazz strolled over to Barriers, a happy, knowing smirk on her face.

"If only you two would just confess, you're totally obvious…"

Danny smiled to himself as he walked into Hot Story, taking in the sights. The store wasn't really about the Goth subculture; it was more a general store for all things considered rebellious. Skipping past the novelty t-shirts and only pausing briefly to consider a choker, Danny made his way over to a rotating display with simple jewelry. Earrings and nose rings encircled the top of the display, necklaces swinging below. Danny browsed the selection for about five minutes before finding one that looked right.

"Excuse me, sir, can I help you with something?" Danny turned and faced a smiling, pink-clothed sales assistant. There was some sort of bug-eyed green dog on the front of her shirt, under the word "Meow." Why she got a job in a dark store like this, he would probably never understand.

"Uh, yes, I'd like that necklace please." Ever since the ghost invasion, the local Hot Story had updated their occult merchandise with as many ghost products as possible. The necklace Danny chose was a thin silver chain with spaced black stones around a molded silver ghost with the word "BOO" etched across its surface.

"That necklace comes with matching earrings! Would you like the set?"

"Uhh…"Danny thought for a second. Those earrings would look really good on Sam, and he was thinking of taking her to the homecoming dance. "Sure. Thanks."

"Okie Dokie," she said in a bubbly sugar-coated voice. "That comes to $19.62. Would you like them wrapped?"

"No thank you. But could you box the earrings?" Danny handed her a twenty and grabbed the bag he was offered.

"The receipt's in there." The lady said. "If you're into ghost stuff, come back later today. We're putting up a display over in that corner. We just got our first shipment of Phantom wear."

Danny was turning to leave, but that last got his undivided attention. "What?"

"Oh, that Phantom guy. He's getting really popular, especially with the Goths. So, we got permission from the guys upstairs to make and sell stuff based on him! See?" She reached under the counter and pulled up a black t-shirt with a white DP symbol in the middle. "Jerry's been bringing in boxes and boxes of this stuff all day."

"Uh, cool, I guess. I might have to come back, then." Danny started off again, but suddenly froze. "Wait, did you say boxes?" A blue mist suddenly floated out of his mouth. "Oh, great."

"BEWARE!"


	3. Phases

Hey, everyone!

I got 254 hits and 6 reviews before I posted this chapter. I don't know if that's good, but the reviews gave me a **major** buzz. Definitely one of the coolest parts about writing here! Special shoutouts to Icepaw, Arabic Blessing, Queen S of Randomness 016, Writer's-BlockDP, and meagainsttheworld. Your support makes this all worthwhile.

Icepaw: Thanks for the question about the Wail. I did omit it from the tests. Couldn't think of a safe way to gauge it, so in the story, neither could Sam or Tucker. I'm open to suggestions, though.

Arabic Blessing and meagainsttheworld: Thanks for the support. 

Queen S: You ROCK! Thanks for going above and beyond the call of duty and reviewing twice!

Writer's Block: I loved writing those quotes, but my personal favorite would have to be "boom." Hope to hear from you again! Encouragement feels good.

Thanks for the support and reviews, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from you about this and future chapters.

Much Love,

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 3 – Phases

"BEWARE! You dare to love the user of the cylindrical capturing device? Then you shall all face my corrugated cardboard vengeance!" The Box Ghost shouted at the top of his voice as twenty boxes flew out through the back door and started shooting black t-shirts all over the room. Fortunately, it was almost noon, so the store was empty except for Danny and the bubbly sales assistant.

"Ahh! The Crate Creep!" The pink woman ran out of the store screaming. Now was Danny's chance.

"Crate Creep! I AM THE BOX GHO-" The annoying spook's battle cry was cut short by a vicious uppercut to the jaw.

"We KNOW who you are! What I'D like to know is why you can't just stay in the Ghost Zone!" Danny, now in ghost form, floated forward to a dazed Box Ghost, pulling out a Fenton Thermos.

The Box Ghost shook off the punch and righted himself. "I shall not explain myself to YOU, for you shall be devoured by my mighty boxes of DOOM!" Boxes spinning quickly around the enraged ghost, he lifted his hands and made a pushing gesture towards his foe. With that, every box in sight shot straight towards Danny.

Blasting the boxes would cost Hot Story lots of money, and they were actually publicizing his real name, so Danny shut his eyes and concentrated on phasing through all of the boxes as they shot at him. Suddenly, he felt a really _weird _sensation, and opened his eyes. He was on the other side of the room, floating behind the Box Ghost. "What the heck? Oh, whatever. I'll ask questions later. Say goodbye, 'Crate Creep.'" Danny snickered and activated the Fenton Thermos, sucking up the ghost.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST!" He screamed for the last time before disappearing into the trap.

"Well, that's settled, and nothing got destroyed for once! I'll just take off and go meet –"

"Wait! Phantom! Th-thanks for saving my life!" The pink-shirted assistant was back, smiling shyly up at him and blushing. "Here, take this as a thank-you! They're going on sale in an hour anyway, so I can just mark this one off of inventory." With that, she threw up one of the black t-shirts. "My name's Stephanie, by the way."

"Umm…thanks? I've gotta go." Danny turned invisible and took off for Old Army. Once there, he flew into an empty changing room and became human again. Quickly shoving the t-shirt and thermos into his Hot Story bag, Danny left the room and started wandering around the store.

"Danny! Hey, over here!" Jazz was waving at him from the shirts section. Danny jogged over and looked at her shopping bags.

"Jeez, Jazz, what book _didn't _you buy?" There had to be at least twelve thick textbooks in those bags.

"Oh, well I could only get the ones I _really_ wanted, so I had to pick and choose a lot, but these should get me through the month, at least…" Now Danny was staring slightly. Jazz blushed. "So, uh, what'd you pick up at Hot Story?"

"A necklace, some matching earrings for…uh, future use…a t-shirt, and the Box Ghost." Danny listed each item off and he pulled them out of his bag.

"Is that what the scream was about? Are you okay?" Jazz shot Danny a worried look.

"Relax, Jazz. It was the _Box Ghost_. There wasn't even any property damage for once." Danny tossed the Fenton Thermos lightly in the air and caught it again, slipping it back into the Hot Story bag. "I'll just go get what I need and meet you at the counter."

Some new pants and a sweatshirt later, Danny and Jazz left the store and drove back home. "So, what kind of t-shirt is that, Danny? I didn't really get a good look at it earlier."

"This," Danny said, pulling out the logo'd shirt with a grin, "is the latest thing in Hot Story. Phantom wear. Apparently there's a whole bunch of new clothes based on me – err, Phantom. I only got to see the t-shirt, but they're setting up a whole display section for the stuff."

"A clothing line based on Phantom? Shouldn't you be asking for a percentage or something?" Jazz smiled back. Danny gave a snort.

"Yeah right. I'll just tell them to make the check out to Danny Fenton because I really like him. I'm not too worried about the money. At least they're using the right name, and they _like_ me. This could be a good thing." Danny smiled. It was about time people started realizing that he was the good guy, and the positive publicity could really help.

Jazz nodded. "I agree. Still, maybe you shouldn't wear that." She said, eyeing the t-shirt before going back to the road. "People haven't connected the dots about you yet, but you probably shouldn't make things any easier for them."

"Come on, Jazz. We're talking about the same town that's still calling me 'Inviso-Bill.' Never gonna happen. Besides, if people get suspicious, we can show that video footage of human me shooting at ghost me in the RV. I admit, using the Fenton Ghost-Catcher was a dumb idea, but that is an awesome benefit."

"Okay, Danny. It's your secret. If you think it's worth the risk, you can wear the t-shirt. I'm just worried about you." Jazz shot Danny a sly glance. "So, about the earrings. What'd you buy them for?"

Danny turned bright red. "I, uh – " Suddenly the entire car phased out and started sinking into the street.

"Danny! Stop that! What are you doing?" Jazz panicked. Danny shut his eyes and concentrated. A second later, the car was back to normal. "Did anyone see that?"

Danny looked around anxiously. "I don't think so. If they did, they're not doing anything about it." He looked embarrassed. "Sorry. That hasn't happened for a few months. I was probably just distracted because of school and stuff."

"Uh huh…" Jazz pursed her lips as they turned onto their block and parked in front of FentonWorks. "Just try to keep things together, Danny. And if you need help, I'm right here." Without another word Jazz got out of the car and walked into the house.

Danny's hand went through the handle on his first try, but the second time he managed to open the car door and grab his stuff. "What's going on?" He hadn't had control problems like this since right after the accident. It was about three o'clock, so Danny dropped off his bags in his room and went downstairs to watch some TV. Three boring hours and a phased remote control later, his parents came bursting into the house with ten bags full of electronics.

"Hey, Danny! Sorry we're a few minutes late, but there was a big sale at Radio Hut!" Jack Beamed at Danny, who grunted in response. Maddie frowned and shot him a concerned look.

"Honey, are you alright? You know you can always talk to us about anything. We went through everything you're going through now. I promise, we'll understand."

Danny paused and mentally ticked off everything he was going through. _'Haywire ghost powers, constant attacks, parents hunting me, the floor…'_

"Nope, I'm good. It's just been a long day. I think I'll head up to bed early." Without another word, he hopped off the couch and climbed upstairs to his room.

Danny looked at his bed with a frown. Then, shrugging, he went over to his closet and pulled out six of the twenty or so belts his dad had bought for him when he had that pants dropping problem. Buckling them together, he quickly made a simple harness and latched himself in. Checking that his alarm was set for 6:45, he pulled the covers over the belts and went to sleep.

The alarm went off at 6:45 exactly. Danny groaned and stretched, then froze as he remembered what happened the other day. He slowly moved his hands to brace for impact and carefully opened his eyes.

He was still in bed. On _top_ of the belts, but he figured if he was trying to keep from phasing, floating, and…_teleporting_ in his sleep, two out of three wasn't bad. With another groan, Danny half rolled half stepped out of bed and turned off his alarm. After grabbing a new pair of jeans, the black t-shirt and the necklace, Danny wandered over the bathroom and got in the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Danny walked into the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. Jazz was already at the table, reading the local news and sipping some weird tea drink. His mom was over by the counter with a mug of coffee and half a grapefruit.

"Danny, honey? I went by your room this morning to check on you but you were already up. Not that it matters, but could you tell me why you wrapped belts around your bed?" At this, Jazz spit tea all over the newspaper, and started coughing. Hilarious.

"Uhh…I've been falling out of bed a lot lately, and I thought it would help?" Maddie shot her son a skeptical look. Jazz immediately cut in.

"I suggested it, mom! Just for a few days, to get his body used to lying still while asleep. Then they can come off. I read about it in one of my psychology books." Jazz shot her mother a big smile. Maddie sighed, but let the subject drop. Just then, Jack came downstairs for breakfast.

"Maddie, kids! What's for breakfast? I'm star.." Jack spotted Danny in his new shirt. "Ghost Kid! Say your prayers!" About twelve different ecto-guns popped out of Jacks orange jumpsuit and pointed at Danny.

"Wait, Dad! That's Danny! He's wearing a t-shirt he bought yesterday at Hot Story!" Jazz jumped up from her chair and stood between Jack and Danny, arms wide. "Don't shoot!"

"Danny?" Jack looked down. "Danny! Sorry, but you looked just like…"

Jazz gave a nervous laugh. "Pretty good t-shirts, huh, Dad? Heh, right."

Maddie shot Danny a disapproving look. "Now Danny, really. I know a lot of kids are starting to admire Inviso-Bill (Danny winced again), but the fact is that the ghost boy is dangerous. He's caused thousands of dollars of property damage, and he attacked us and the mayor. He keeps saying he's a hero, but he always runs away from the authorities. He can't be trusted, and I don't approve of this ridiculous outfit."

"Come on mom, _Phantom_ has been protecting this town from ghosts for a whole year now! Sure, he's caused some damage, but he's prevented way more! You guys should give him a fair chance." Danny and Jazz both looked at their parents. Maddie's frown turned thoughtful.

"He does seem to care most of the time…" Her look hardened. "But he still has a lot of explaining to do, and until he does, I owe it to this city to keep hunting him. He might be good like he keeps saying, but until he can prove it, it's too risky to leave him alone." She might have gone on at length about this, but the hall clock suddenly struck. "7:30. You kids get to school. Jack, let's head downstairs and try to fix the ghost gabber. I just can't understand what ghost keeps blowing it up." Danny coughed into his fist.

Danny and Jazz walked outside and down to the sidewalk. "Come on, Danny, I'll give you a ride." Jazz shot him an encouraging smile. The siblings slid into the car and took off for school.

"It sounds like mom might be willing to trust you, uh, ghost you I mean." Jazz said hesitantly.

Danny grimaced. "Yeah, but only if I can completely prove that I'm good. Otherwise, she'll just keep blasting. Why can't they just trust me?"

"They're doing their jobs, Danny. Most ghosts aren't like you. They don't have any reason to trust you yet. Don't worry. If you keep proving yourself, I'm sure they'll come around. They might even trust you before you tell them the truth." Jazz's eyes widened with understanding and she looked over at Danny. "Is that what you're waiting for?"

Danny looked at her. "That's the other thing I haven't sorted out yet. Besides Vlad, I mean. I want to know that they trust my ghost side before I tell them about my human side. Otherwise, they'll only trust me because I'm their son. I want to have _earned_ their trust. It'll take longer, but things will be better that way."

Jazz smiled at Danny. "You know, math grades aside, you're pretty smart, Danny."

Danny smiled back. "Thanks, Jazz. Let's just hope I wasn't wrong about the shirt thing. I'm _definitely_ not ready for the whole world to know."

The rest of the short car ride passed in silence until Jazz pulled into the student lot. "Thanks for the ride, Jazz. I gotta go, I told Sam and Tucker I'd meet them before class started."

"Bye, Danny. See you after school." The two locked up and headed into Casper High.

Tucker and Sam both broke into huge grins when they met up with Danny at their lockers. "Dude, are _you_ seriously wearing a _Danny Phantom_ t-shirt?" Tucker was sporting a new PDA, but had obviously decided that upgrading his clothes wasn't as important.

"Nice necklace, Danny. The ghost is a nice touch." Sam smiled. She was a huge fan of hidden messages. Danny was pleased to see that she was also wearing the DP shirt. Sam was big on individuality, but he figured this was more for support than anything else.

"Yeah, I thought I'd make a statement." Danny grinned. "So, you guys ready to go to class?"

"No, but we're going anyway." Sam said dryly. "Honestly, I don't know how we wound up with Lancer _again_."

"Still, at least we're all together." Tucker said, walking into the all-too-familiar classroom. "We can even sit in the same seats we did last year."

"I guess." Danny moved to sit down, then yelped as he fell _through_ his seat. "Ow! Why me!"

"Danny, is everything okay? You haven't had control problems like that for months." Both Tucker and Sam looked concerned as they pulled him to his feet.

"I'm fine, guys. It's probably just some weird phase." Danny said, then smacked his forehead.

"That was really corny, Danny." Sam was smiling anyway, though.

About a minute later, Paulina sauntered into the room, satellites in tow. She, too, was sporting a very form-fitting black DP t-shirt. "So anyway, Star, I was thinking that once the ghost boy sees me in his shirt, he'll totally fall for me! And then –" Paulina froze and locked horrified gazes with Sam.

"Ugh, the Goth loser's wearing my outfit!"

"Ew! I'm…I'm…conforming!" Sam looked absolutely horrified.

"Why did you even get that outfit? It's not like anybody will like you more because of it!" Paulina stuck her nose in the air. "Do us all a favor and go back to your old clothes. You're making this outfit less cool!" For a second it looked like Sam was going to jump across the room and rip Paulina to shreds, but just then Mr. Lancer walked into the room.

"Good morning, students. Please take your seats." Sam sat down, but the glare she sent Paulina should have burned through her head. "Welcome to another year at Casper High. To start, I'll remind you that no matter how you did in my class last year," at this Mr. Lancer shot Danny a dark look, "we will all be starting this year with a clean slate. I hope you all use this as an opportunity to improve your work. Now for your first assignment…"


	4. Trials

Hello!

Wow, almost 400 hits now. And the reviews I'm getting are becoming more informative, too. It's mostly positive, which definitely keeps the morale up, but there's also some great advice that I can use to help improve my writing. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed now. Quick shout out to the latest reviewers:

Queen S: Thanks for number three! Hope you like this one, too.

Horselvr4evr123: One for each chapter, and all in a row! Thanks!

Epona Harper: Definitely made me feel better about some stuff. Glad I have your support. But remember, if I screw up; feel free to turn on me. 

HikaruOfArrow: Glad to see another new name. Hope you stick with the story and have some advice to share, I'll be listening.

Now that that's out of the way, here's Chapter 4. It looks like I'll be posting about once a day or so, at least if things keep moving at this rate. Enjoy!

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 4 – Trials

Four boring hours later, Danny Sam and Tucker trudged into the school cafeteria and collapsed at their usual table. "Ugh, when will it end?" Tucker moaned. "How are we supposed to read a hundred pages of the Iliad, and solve thirty trig problems, and study Newton's Laws, _and _write a five page essay on Waterloo by Wednesday? It's insane!"

"At least you have time to study." Danny said. "I have to do all that on top of ghost hunting. I only hope Valery's too busy with homework and her other job to attack me."

"You seem pretty well rested today, though." Sam pointed out. "You didn't even fall asleep in history."

"Yeah, it's weird. The only ghost I've run into in the last few days was the Box Ghost. Even Skulker hasn't shown up, and he usually comes 'hunting' once or twice a week." Danny let his head fall onto the tabletop and sighed. "Knowing my luck there's probably some big, horrible reason they aren't showing, too."

"But on the bright side, it looks like a lot of people really like you." Danny tilted his head towards Tucker and cocked an eyebrow. "Uhh, ghost you, I mean. Human you's still the same loser as always."

"Wow. Thanks a lot, Tuck. For a second there I actually felt better." Danny said drily, his forehead back on the tabletop.

"Oh. Sorry, dude." Tucker grimaced, then grinned. "But seriously, I've never seen so many people wearing black in my life! You must be thrilled, Sam." Tucker had a point. At least half of the students at school had been sporting the black logo'd t-shirt from Hot Story, including every single student at the popular table. Valery seemed to be the only exception.

"Oh sure, Tucker. The fashion clones have taken over my favorite color. What's not to like?" Sam still looked slightly sick. "Speaking of which: Danny, I wanted to show my support, but if you don't mind, I'd like to switch back to my old look tomorrow. I like the shirt, but no amount of soap will ever wash away the memory that I once shared an outfit with…_Paulina_." At this Sam visibly shuddered. Danny gave her a sympathetic look.

"That's okay, Sam. I know you're big on individuality and stuff, and I'm glad you wore the shirt once anyway. But since these go with _that_ shirt better…"Danny fished around in his pocket and came up with a black box tied shut with purple ribbon. "I saw these in Hot Story yesterday and, uh, thought you might like them."

Sam tentatively reached across the table and picked the box up out of Danny's hand, a slightly shocked look on her face. Her other hand deftly untied the ribbon, and opened the box to reveal a set of silver ghost earrings. "Umm, thanks? But, what are these for, Danny? My birthday was last month, and Hanukkah isn't until December."

"Oh! Right…well, I kinda wanted to ask you something." Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing slightly. "I wanted to ask you to the, uh, the homecoming dance." Sam's eyes widened and Danny continued quickly, his blush even brighter. "But, those aren't a bribe or anything! I mean, they're yours whether you go with me or not! I mean, I want you to say yes, but…"

"Danny?" Sam interrupted, blushing just as badly. "I'd love to."

Tucker just sat there and grinned as the awkward silence stretched on. "So Danny, what's up with getting all your new girlfriends jewelry? Shouldn't you do that _after_ you've been dating for a while?"

"_Girlfriend_?" Danny gasped, bug-eyed, all blood leaving his face. Suddenly, all three of their food trays fell through the table and clattered on the floor. After a quick look to make sure no one noticed, the three leaned over and reached under the table.

"Tucker! You know Danny and I are just _friends_! And if you ever want that tape back, you better lay off the jokes!" Sam glared at Tucker under the table as they reached for their trays. Danny grabbed his tray as well and set it back on the table, looking slightly put out. Tucker just sat there with an exasperated look on his face.

"Fine, Sam, whatever, but you have to admit that this _is_ a real date. Danny didn't get _me_ a hot pair of earrings. Err…right?" He shot Danny a fake-nervous look, then broke down at the look on Danny's face and laughed.

Danny looked like he was about to respond, but with a loud ring from the bell, the cafeteria emptied out and the school day resumed. The trio's next class was PE, so they marched off to their separate locker rooms and changed into their gym clothes.

"Alright, students! You've had all summer to lay around doing nothing, now it's my job to whip you back into shape!" Mrs. Tetslaff shouted with frightening enthusiasm.

"I was supposed to lay around and do nothing all summer? Why didn't she tell me?" Danny whispered to Tucker and Sam. All three shared a chuckle.

"So," Mrs. Tetslaff continued, "just to see what we're supposed to build from, we're going to run a series of strength and endurance trials to see what you can do. We'll start with the climbing rope!" Several students groaned at this, Danny and Tucker included. "First up: Alexander, Henry!"

Danny watched as Henry gritted his teeth and struggled up the long rope while Mrs. Tetslaff watched a small wristwatch timer. "I hate the climbing rope."

Tucker shot Danny a look. "Dude, why are you worried? You have ghost powers!"

"Tucker! I'm not using my powers to cheat!" Danny whispered back furiously.

"Why not? Using your powers to get the edge just once wouldn't be the end of the world." Tucker argued. Sam snorted.

"Tucker, did you forget what happened the last time Danny used his powers to cheat on a test?"

"Oh sure, cheating on a test actually ends the world _one time_, and you just can't let it go. Whatever, Danny, be the hero and totally reek in gym if you really want to." Tucker rolled his eyes and walked over to talk to Valery.

Sam and Danny shared a look then turned and watched as a few more students tried the rope.

"Fenton, Danny." Tetslaff's voice lashed out. Wincing, Danny walked over to the rope and waited. "Ready? Go!" Suddenly, Danny was shooting up the rope, hands grabbing one after the other at an insane rate. Mrs. Tetslaff looked speechless. So did Danny.

"Wow, Fenton. That was some of the fastest rope climbing I've ever seen!" Tetslaff praised Danny when he finally dropped down to the floor. "Much better than last year. Right, next! Finnik, Heather! Danny walked over to his friends with a grimace, trying to ignore several wide-eyed stares. Sam looked livid.

"Danny, what were you thinking! I thought you _weren't _going to cheat!" Tucker just nodded, wide-eyed as many of the other students.

"And even if you did, you didn't have to be _that_ good!"

"I didn't! I mean, not on purpose. One second I was thinking about the climb, and the next, I just started flying! I'm just glad I could pretend to be using the rope." Danny looked slightly pale. "You couldn't tell I wasn't using it, right?" The anger faded right off of Sam's face, and was replaced with worry. Tucker's eyes glazed over as he thought back.

"No, I couldn't, but people are still freaked by how fast you were going." Tucker said. "You better just try to lay low for the rest of the day. I don't know what's going on with your powers, but you'd better hope you can keep them under control for the rest of gym class." Danny nodded silently.

Fortunately, the rest of PE passed without incident. Well, Danny _did_ accidentally drop a free-weight _through_ his hands, but everyone thought it was just his usual clumsiness, so it didn't draw attention. Besides that, Danny was able to keep up his usual out-of-shape routine, and the other students slowly became less freaked out.

Towards the end of the period, the students were sent to the locker rooms to change. Once inside, Tucker turned to Danny with a serious expression. "Danny? Could we talk a second?" Danny turned away from his locker to look at his friend.

"Sure, Tuck. What's up?" Tucker visibly braced himself, and then plowed ahead.

"Well, you remember how I was talking to Valery at the beginning of class?" Danny nodded. "She kind of asked me to go to the dance with her. Are you cool with that?"

Danny smiled. "Sure, Tucker. It's fine. I had lots of fun dating Valery, and she's a great person. But, we've been over for months. I think we'll always be friends, but she's so determined to kill me – or Phantom, anyway – that I don't think things would ever work out between us. Besides, I'm already going with Sam."

Tucker smirked at that last. "Yeah, about that. What's going on between you and Sam, anyway?" Danny frowned.

"Nothing, Tucker. You heard Sam at lunch: we're just friends." Danny said it casually, but Tucker could tell he wasn't happy about what he was saying.

"Dude, if you like her, just make a move. I'm her friend, too, and I _know_ she likes you back. She's just waiting for you to ask." He shot Danny an encouraging smile.

"I don't know, Tuck." Danny sighed, but looked thoughtful. For once, Tucker let it drop.

After class ended, the three walked outside and headed towards Danny's house. Technically there was still one class left in the day, but the three of them had managed to get a free period, and were allowed to leave early.

"This is awesome!" Tucker shot his hands into the air, grinning. "Almost an entire extra hour off of school every day! What do you guys want to do? TV? Video Games?"

"Find out why my powers are going nuts." Danny said with a frown. "Jazz thinks it's because of the 'higher power rating than normal' thing. I think she's right. I have too much energy to control all the time, so I'm…slipping." Sam looked thoughtful.

"You know, that makes sense, Danny. When you first got your powers, you didn't have much energy, but you weren't used to having _any_, so you slipped up a lot. Maybe your energy just increased too fast for your body to adapt. It's not much of a lead, but I guess it's a start." Sam smiled as they turned onto Danny's block. The towering metal mess that was Fenton Works loomed up before them.

"Yeah, I guess." Tucker cut in. "But if that's what's happening, how do we find out _why_? It's not like ghost powers come with an 800 number." Danny stopped suddenly and smiled.

"Whoa, déjà vu."

"What, Danny?" Tucker asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing Tuck. Let's go in. Mom and dad spent this morning in the lab working on the ghost-gabber, which somehow got blown up again." All three shared a grin. "We should be okay to work down there all afternoon."

"The ghost-gabber blew up again?" Tucker asked in a fake-shocked voice. "How many times has that thing broken now, anyway?" Danny smiled, and made a fist.

"Assuming it got fixed, it'll be thirty four times tomorrow." The three friends laughed as they walked inside. Jack and Maddie Fenton were sitting in the living room watching a movie with Bruce Willis and some creepy little kid talking in a church. "Hey mom, hey dad. What's going on?"

"Hi, sweetie. I forgot you three are getting out of school early this year." Maddie smiled at the trio. "We were just channel surfing and we found this movie about a boy with the ability to sense ghosts. Honestly, I don't understand how his mother could miss it, with how strangely he's been acting. I guess some parents just can't figure out their kids."

"Uhh, yeah! That is weird," Danny said as he hastily shoved Sam and Tucker through the basement door, both shaking with suppressed laughter. "Umm, Sam Tucker and I are going to be down in the lab doing absolutely nothing for the next hour or so, okay?" Jack turned around and grinned.

"Sure, son! And while you're down there, you can give Sam and Tucker ghost-goopers! Your mom and I finished fixing the ghost-gabber, so we won't be going back downstairs today. We even gave it a stylish new paint job. See?" Jack pulled the ghost-gabber off of his lap and showed it to Danny with a flourish.

"Umm, cool dad, it looks great." Danny said with fake enthusiasm.

"Cool dad, it looks great. Fear me." Jack frowned down at the active ghost-gabber.

"Sorry about that, Danny. Must still have a fried circuit somewhere." Jack turned back around and started fiddling with the annoying machine. Maddie gave her son another smile.

"You go have fun with your friends, Danny. I want to see if this kid's mom can figure out her son's secret." With that, she turned back towards the TV and Danny started down the basement stairs, a slight smirk on his face.

"Okay guys, mom and dad are busy watching some movie, so we should have at least a good hour or so to ourselves. Any ideas on how to test this power idea?" Sam smacked her forehead and shot Danny a dark look.

"Danny, you really should work on your memory. I just gave you an ecto-meter two days ago. We already _know_ you have too much energy. We should just recheck your level to make sure it wasn't a temporary boost, then get online and do research. Actually Tucker, you can start researching now. I'll get the reading. Danny, where's the meter?"

"It's in my room. I put it by my bed, but it's probably on the floor by now." Without another word, Sam jogged upstairs and Tucker sat down in front of the lab computer and brought up a web browser. "Oh, Tucker, could you give me a hand for a second? My dad wants me to give you and Sam one of his new inventions, and he'll probably check later to make sure I did."

Tucker didn't even look up from the screen as his fingers flew over the keyboard. "So? What do you need my help for? Just go get them and we'll stash them in our backpacks."

"I need your help because touching them won't turn _you_ into a puddle of goop." Danny explained. Tucker's eyes widened.

"They made something to _melt_ ghosts? Dude, you better not let them catch you." The tech geek shot the screen one last longing look and walked over to the lab tables. "So, which one is it?"

"See those coin things? Those are called 'Fenton Ghost-Goopers,' and have already been filed away under _must avoid_." Danny grimaced. "The last thing I need after today is to get melted again." A blue mist escaped his mouth. "Correction. _That's_ the last thing I need." Both Danny and Tucker turned to face the opening ghost portal. Danny quickly changed into his ghost form and prepared to encounter-

"Wulf?" The big furry monster grinned at Danny and bounded forward.

"Estas bonega al vidi Danny." Danny shot Tucker a look. Tucker just shrugged.

"What? I may be a geek, but I'm still cool enough to not understand Esperanto." Tucker's eyes lit up. "Hey, did your parents fix the Ghost-Gabber?" Danny nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be right back. Umm…stay, please?" Wulf looked confused, but took a seat at the nearest lab table. Danny quickly became human again and ran back upstairs. "Hey dad? Tucker was wondering if he could look at the Ghost-Gabber once to see how it works. Since it isn't broken now, could we borrow it?" Jack frowned for a moment as the gabber began repeating everything Danny just said, with an occasional 'fear me.'

"Well…okay, son. But let Tucker know it still isn't quite right." Without another word, Jack handed over the Ghost-Gabber and turned back to the movie. "I don't understand. Can't everyone see dead people?"

Danny hurried back downstairs to see Sam and Tucker both sitting by Wulf. He quickly joined them and sat the Ghost-Gabber down in the middle of the table. "Okay, Wulf. Just say what you want, and this'll translate." The Ghost-Gabber immediately began to work.

"It is good to see you again, Danny. Fear me. I'm here to bring you before the Ghost Council. Fear me. They have important business to settle with you. Fear me." Sam looked shocked.

"Why should Danny go to this Ghost Council? Almost every ghost we know hates him." Wulf only shrugged.

"The council is always fair, not like Walker. Fear me. If they ask you to see them, you should listen. Fear me. Besides, if you don't go, they'll come after you. Fear me. And they're much stronger than Walker. Fear me." Tucker groaned.

"I don't see any way out of this. Still, if Wulf thinks its okay, they can't be all bad, right? And he _did_ say they were fair."

Danny grimaced. "I guess I'm going to see the Ghost Council. Let's get going." The three friends stood up. Wulf held up his hands.

"This meeting is ghosts only. Fear me. Danny must come alone. Fear me." Sam and Tucker sat back down. Danny glanced over at his friends.

"Don't worry guys. Like you said, Wulf says they're okay, so it should be alright." He put on a forced smile. "Besides, they _couldn't_ be worse than Walker, right?" Without another word, Danny returned to his ghost form and followed Wulf through the portal. Before he vanished, Sam quickly whipped out the ecto-meter and snapped off a reading.

"At least we can work on something while he's gone." She glanced down at the meter, and her face paled slightly. "7.31?" Sam and Tucker looked towards the portal, then back at each other. Then, they both rushed over to the computer and began searching as fast as their fingers could type.

Wulf led Danny past hundreds of floating doors and islands. The two traveled for what seemed like hours, deep into the Ghost Zone. Finally, they came upon an ornate floating door. It was covered with detailed carvings and seemed to be leafed in gold. Danny floated up and eyed the door warily.

"This the place?" Wulf only nodded. Danny still hesitated.

"Umm, aren't you coming, too?" Wulf shook his head firmly.

"You go alone. Wulf stay. Wait." Danny gulped. Then, he turned and pushed through the door.

Danny looked around at the large, dimly lit room in which he now found himself. There seemed to be a great many seats to either side of the entrance, some hidden in shadow. At the far end of the room there were five tall podiums. Seated behind them were five very old-looking ghosts. A moment after the door clicked shut, the center ghost called out.

"Next case. We call Danny Phantom. Let the hearing begin." Danny's pale face turned even paler.

"I'm on TRIAL?"


	5. Passages

Hello, Again!

Wow, two updates in a day! But in all fairness, Complications **has** fallen off the first page. I'd like to take a moment and thank Queen S, Hikaru, and Epona for reviewing chapter 4. I'm hoping the rest of you guys are still out there, of course. And to all new readers, please drop me a line or two, I love hearing from you all.

All right, fair warning. This chapter starts in a courtroom, so there are some hundred dollar words. Don't worry, though, all the important stuff is explained twice; once in legal gobbletigook, and once in a recognizable human language. Try not to be put off, I just wanted it to sound authentic. I also guarantee that not a single one of you will have seen the end of this chapter coming, but if you think about it, it sort of makes sense.

Always hoping to please,

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 5 – Passages

"No, this is not a trial. Though you may end up being punished, it is for the moment unlikely. We have called you here to inform you of several laws that you have – we assume – inadvertently broken, and to instruct you in how to correct the situation." While far from cold, the center ghost's voice resonated with a crisp professionalism that precluded mercy. "Will mister Phantom please approach the bench." It was not a question. With a gulp, Danny slowly shuffled forward towards the seated spirits.

"Mister Phantom, you have been called before the Supreme Ghost Council on this twenty-first day of August under multiple charges of negligence." The spirit to the center ghost's immediate right intoned. This one, Danny noted, seemed rather bored. With a glimmer of hope, he wondered if this was an everyday thing, and if he was punished, that the punishment was not too severe.

"We five will preside over this hearing and insure that our will is carried out." The ghost on the far right was a casually dressed lady spirit with a faint bluish tint. She seemed very serious, but in a helpful sort of way. "We request at this time that you commit all future instructions to memory to avoid a repeat hearing and almost guaranteed retribution."

"We have taken the liberty of procuring witnesses to your character and general nature, and will call upon each when appropriate. You may also speak on your own behalf, and question any witness that we call as you see fit." The spirit to the center's immediate left growled out. The hairs on the back of Danny's neck stood up at the sound, and he hoped with every fiber of his being that he always sounded like that, and not just for _his_ trial.

There was a brief pause, and Danny looked over to the ghost on the far left. This one remained concealed in shadow, nothing visible except a pair of glowing red eyes. "We are aware of your unique condition and have taken your lack of knowledge into account. You will be dealt with justly, and a record of these proceedings will be set aside to testify to that fact." The blue, hooded ghost leaned forward. Danny nearly fainted with relief as he spied the familiar scar and scepter.

"Clockwork! Please, what's going on? Why was I called here?" The center ghost cleared his throat angrily.

"Mister Phantom will refrain from speaking unless given permission. Clockwork is one of the five ghosts on this council, and any pre-existing relationship will not be allowed to affect the outcome of this hearing." Danny shot Clockwork an apprehensive glance, and could have sworn he caught a discreet wink in return. His stomach somewhat settled, Danny returned his gaze to the center ghost, who opened a rather large tome on his podium and began reading aloud.

"You, Phantom, are in violation of the following edicts and restrictions. Section one, subparagraph E on the commute and communication of transplanar ectoplasmic entities states as follows: 'All spirits, revenants, and other such creatures of primarily ectoplasmic composition that may otherwise be referred to broadly as ghosts must in the event of taking up residence outside their native dimension create an immediate means by which they may be contacted or visited. In the circumstance that said residence exists on the physical plane rather than in a personally created sub-dimension, said route must contain an intermediary zone for the convenience of residents from each of the coterminous planes.'

Section five, subparagraph A, point ii on the nature and bounding of personal haunts on the physical plane states as follows: 'Any individual, object, or location on the physical plane which is regularly visited or inhabited by any being considered native to the Ghost Zone for a period of not less than one calendar year must be considered a haunting and, when appropriate, extra dimensional residence of said being. Such haunts henceforth shall be considered the property and sole responsibility of said being, and except in the event of invitation or contested ownership rights, shall be immediately vacated by all other parties. Please note that previously stated invitations may originate from either the ghost in residence or any other sentient being in the haunt, excluding invitees.'

Last but certainly not least, section twenty two, subparagraph S on the symbolic expression of energy potential clearly mandates: 'All residents of the ghost zone with a power capacity considered to be of superior nature must significantly and noticeably alter their appearance to warn away potentially hostile but unsuspecting rivals. Said alteration may include but is not limited to flaming hair, fangs/forked tongue, cape, facial scar, or a physical accessory such as a staff or possibly a weapon. In the case of personal repugnance to all recommended alterations an alternative may be used with the approval of at least four Council members.'"

Without another word, the center ghost finished thumbing through the large book and sat back to await Danny's response. Danny, for his part, turned towards Clockwork, looking punch-drunk. "_What_?"

Clockwork smiled, and glanced toward the center ghost. "With permission?" After a slight nod from center, he once again faced the young ghost and said. "My colleague was reading passages out of the official tome of Ghost Law, which for legal reasons must be precise. Simply put: 1. you need to make a ghost door. 2. Amity Park is now considered your property. 3. You need to change your look a bit to warn away stupid ghosts."

Danny nervously scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "Oh, _that's_ what he said…"

"Then you understand the nature of your violations?" The ghost asked. Danny nodded slowly, still a bit uncertain. "Very well, let us begin questioning witnesses. Because of the nature of the charges, we felt two would suffice. First, Walker. Please come forward." Danny gasped and slipped into a fighting stance as the pale skull-faced ghost stepped forward out of the shadowed seats to the right. Walker shot Danny a look of contempt.

"Relax, punk, I'm not going to bust you here. That's against the rules." The ghost warden's frown turned up at the corners. "But you even sneeze funny once we're out of here, and you're going right back into prison."

"That's enough, Walker. From this point on, you shall only speak when answering a question. Understood?" After a brusque nod from Walker, the center ghost continued. "Very well. First, please briefly describe mister Phantom's disposition in your own words." The warden cleared his throat.

"The ghost kid's a rule breaker. One of the worst I've ever had the displeasure to meet. Not only has he flaunted every rule in the book, but when I finally managed to bring him in, he organized a prison break and cost me months of work. If you care about justice, you should give him over to me for the next six thousand years for some well-deserved punishment." The center ghost leaned back, opening the floor. Clockwork asked the next question.

"Walker, what 'crimes', besides the prison break, did mister Phantom commit?" Walker immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out a steno pad.

"Flying an unregistered vehicle, passing through a restricted area without leave, possession of real world contraband, and resisting arrest." Clockwork nodded, smiling to himself.

"Was the vehicle of ghostly origin, as is required for that law to be valid?" Walker stalled, looking slightly put out.

"No."

"Was the restricted area posted with warnings, as is required for the second law that was violated?"

Walker grimaced. "No."

"Was the real world contraband being smuggled into, or responsibly removed from, the Ghost Zone?"

"Removed." Walker said tensely, but then brightened. "But Phantom still resisted arrest." Clockwork nodded.

"But did you have any reason to arrest him?" Now Walker was positively livid.

"No."

"Under those circumstances, I believe resisting arrest is both understandable and technically legal. And if you still want to bring up the prison break, we can of course review your reasons for arresting all of the escapees." Walker glared at Clockwork.

"That won't be necessary. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way. See you soon, punk." Walker jostled Danny's shoulder as he stormed from the room. The ghost boy wasn't completely sure about what just happened, but he thought that it had gone in his favor. Clockwork favored him with a brief smile, and then frowned.

"I'm sorry, Danny. Did you have any questions for Walker?" Danny shook his head.

"No, that's okay, I'm kinda glad he's gone." After a brief moment of silence the center ghost cleared his throat.

"Let us proceed. Dairy King?" At this, a short, friendly looking ghost floated forward from the seats to Danny's left. "Hello, there, kiddo! It's good ta see you again. Hope I can help ya out. I'm not a very good speaker, don't-cha know." Danny grinned.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Thanks for coming." Up above, the center ghost once again cleared his throat. Apparently ghost judges don't use gavels.

"Please describe mister Phantom's nature in your own words." The Dairy King gathered his thoughts for a moment, and then began speaking.

"Well, he's not too bright, ya know." Danny spluttered slightly. "He's still figurin' the whole ghost thing out, but he'd _never_ hurt people on purpose. When I first met 'im, he didn't even know some ghosts were good, but he gave me a chance anyhow. He's a good 'un, all right." Danny looked slightly red at this, but very pleased.

"Thank you, Dairy King. Are there any questions before he is excused?" The center ghost's question was greeted with silence. "Thank you again. You are excused." The Dairy King turned and started out.

"Next time yer in Wisconsin, look me up! We'll have Swiss!" Without another word, the Dairy King left and the door clicked shut. Danny turned back towards the five council members, smiling slightly.

"Mister Phantom, given your relatively unique condition and lack of former knowledge, you will not be punished for negligence. However, you are hereby instructed to fulfill all minimum requirements previously stated within a calendar week. The question of the alteration of your appearance shall be addressed immediately. What alteration would you prefer?" Danny gulped, and began panicking slightly. Clockwork immediately stood and faced the center member.

"If I may interrupt, Danny has already noticeably altered his appearance, although it required altering the timeline. I attest to the fact that near the time when he would have been required to alter his appearance anyway, mister Phantom and his two friends altered the outfit that he wears by adding a DP symbol to the center. I submit that this is a significant alteration in accordance with the requirements of the law, provided he refuses all of the recommended changes." The center ghost frowned in thought, and then turned to Danny.

"Do you reject all of the recommended alterations?" Danny's mind flashed with an image of a tall, muscular ghost with flaming hair, blue skin, and fangs.

"Yes. I don't want any of those." The center ghost nodded.

"Very well, I approve the alternative. Do my colleagues concur?" One by one each of the other ghosts nodded approval. "That's settled then. Clockwork has requested that he be allowed to personally assist you in the creation of your doorway, and to answer any questions you might have. Is that agreeable?" Danny nodded vigorously.

"Yes, thank you. I still don't really understand what you want me to do."

"Thank you, mister Phantom. You are excused." Clockwork stood up, and walked with Danny out through the ornate gilded doorway. Once outside, he nodded once at Wulf, and the furry ghost smiled and bounded off. Clockwork then turned his gaze on Danny.

"So, you said you have questions." Danny frowned.

"Yes, I do. First, why didn't you ever tell me you were on the Ghost Council? Or that there _was_ one?" Clockwork shrugged.

"You never asked. The other members felt that my perspective would come in handy. But that is all beside the point. Let's set about creating your door first and talk later. I have time." Danny still seemed confused.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. If I have to have a door, shouldn't Vlad have one, too? He's been living in Wisconsin for a long time; he'd _have_ to have one." Clockwork smiled.

"He does, Danny. Every ghost in the Zone has the ability to make – and is required to make – one doorway. Mr. Masters didn't want to create a proper Ghost Door, so he persuaded the council to let him use his Portal for a doorway. They only made him personalize it, which is why he covers it with a giant purple football." Danny froze.

"You don't want me to do that too, right? My parents hunt ghosts! I can't use their portal as my front door, it'd set off every alarm in the house!" Clockwork remained calm, and set a blue hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Relax, Danny. I know you can't use your portal. Even if you could, I don't think it would be a good idea. Technically, there is a part of the portal between the Ghost Zone and human world that counts as an intermediary, like the council requires. But, it's very small. Most ghostly visitors wouldn't be comfortable, and some can't form bodies on the other side. I think you want allies, so your intermediary zone should be as large as you can make it." Danny scratched his head.

"My what?"

"Your door won't lead straight to the human world. It has to have a room that's almost in both worlds, that you'll make yourself. A door on the other side will take you the rest of the way, and can be placed anywhere in your haunt." At that, Danny's look turned thoughtful.

"So – to ghosts, I mean – Amity Park is mine, now?" When Clockwork nodded, Danny grinned. "And unless they're invited, other ghosts can't go there now?" Clockwork nodded again. "Yes! That means that the town is finally safe! I can relax!"

"That's not completely true, Danny. Remember, if you _or_ any citizen of Amity Park invites a ghost, they can just pop in, at least until _you_ throw them back out. _And_, any time you leave the city limits, any ghost that wants to can show up and start terrorizing the town again. That was the 'contested ownership' part." Danny's face fell.

"So, the town is safe as long as I'm always there and nobody invites ghosts over. Well, I guess that's better than nothing."

"The powers that enforce these rules will go into effect as soon as you create your door, which will officially proclaim that you consider Amity Park your property." Danny frowned.

"But, I'm not an evil ghost like Pariah Dark. I don't _want_ to rule the town." Clockwork looked surprised.

"I didn't say you did. You don't have to be a dictator. Proclaiming your ownership will only help keep other ghosts away, it won't make you a king. You _could_ be if you wanted, but the law doesn't say you have to." Relief flooded Danny's face.

"How exactly do I make this door thing, anyway?"


	6. Haunts

Guten Tag, Hola, Aloha, Konichiwa, and Salutations.

Glad to have a whole day between postings. The ideas around here must really be flying to fill out so many pages so fast. I was overjoyed to see Darth Frodo back again with an update. Not many "Danny revealed to the world" plots work out near so well. Anyway, here's the usual shoutouts: Horselvr4evr123, Hikaru, thanks for the support. Epona, glad you liked Walker's dressing-down. Cheers. Everyone else, both reviewers and not, I hope to hear from ya.

And to my newest reviewer Ummari the Cranky: Thank you for the really cool review and the question. I always like to know about my failures to elaborate, it'll help me improve my writing, and it was a very good question. I agree, Danny with red eyes looks wicked awesome. I just thought Danny would have serious issues with looking anything like his evil future self. Hope to hear from you again, and if I ever need work done on a wizard's beard, I'll look you up first. ;)

Okay, everyone, fair warning. This chapter causes a slight diversion from the usual canon, and jumps to a few personal assumptions, mostly involving what ghosts can and will do with their doors, and why they exist. I actually had to almost completely rewrite this one once to make sure the rest of the story line would work and keep everyone IC. But hey, it's important that Danny has his door for this story and any sequels that may or may not happen, so there you go.

Another fair warning. This chapter ends up being DxS flufftastic. I try to avoid mush and keep it awkward and mostly friend-ish, mostly for my own twisted amusement, but I am a firm believer that Sam and Danny are both more than ready to hook up, they just need a push. And don't worry about Valery, she's still friends with Danny and she'll be hooking up in this story, too. Three guesses who it is after you finish the chapter, and the first two don't count.

Well, I got that off my chest. Please let me know what you think, I've been using the canon DP stuff mostly up to this point, and this is probably my first _real_ diversion from it. I just want to know if it's reasonably believable.

Much Love, (Seriously, Sam's all _over_ Danny in this one)

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 6 – Haunts

Clockwork floated beside Danny in the Ghost Zone and started explaining how to make a door.

"First, you find a location in the Ghost Zone to place the ghost side of your doorway. I can't tell you where to put it, but I was hoping you would place it near my home." Clockwork said hesitantly. Danny shot him a reassuring smile, and the older ghost pressed on. "Then, you focus on the idea of a door. It will eventually appear, looking just as you imagined it. After the door forms, simply open it and walk in. You will find yourself in a grey limbo. This is the intermediary zone. Everything inside can be changed as you will, except other people who visit. To change things, simply close your eyes and imagine the alterations. It is something akin to dreaming. Just know that you cannot create objects. You may shape the walls and scenery, but trying to create furniture or other objects that can be removed won't work. Finally, you create the human door from inside the intermediary. Simply focus on where you want it to open up. I'll let you decide that for yourself. Neither ghosts nor humans can phase through either door unless you make that possible, but you are not allowed to lock them." Danny nodded slowly.

"Okay, Clockwork. I think I get it. And I think making this side's door near your castle is a great idea. You're one of the only ghost friends I have." Clockwork remained impassive, but Danny thought he was pleased.

About an hour's flight later, Danny and Clockwork stopped in midair, a giant gear-filled castle clearly visible in the distance. "Alright, Danny. Now concentrate." Danny's eyes scrunched shut, and the ectoplasm nearby started to ripple. "That's exactly right. Keep it up."

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and bent over, panting with exertion. In front of the two ghosts was a simple black door, with a white DP in the center. "Excellent work, Danny. Shall we go inside?" Danny nodded at the suggestion, and opened the door.

The two stood side by side in the large, grey-fogged emptiness, with only the closed black door at their backs. Clockwork looked down at Danny. "Well? It's your private place, Danny. Make it how you want it." Danny paused for a moment in thought, and then an evil grin flashed across his face. He shut his eyes, and the foggy plane immediately started to blur and shift.

After what felt like hours of effort, the two were standing on a stone balcony in front of the black door, staring into the oddest room Clockwork had ever seen. The old ghost's face went from blue to a pale green. Small and large open platforms covered floors, walls and ceiling – if there _was_ a ceiling – connected by hundreds of staircases going at impossible angles. Through windows that once again covered every surface, you could see a breathtaking view of a starry night sky, complete with full moon. Light from the moon and stars shafted into the open space from impossible angles, providing a surreal but even lighting. Clockwork wasn't sure yet, but he was willing to bet the "down" in this place depended a great deal on where you were standing. The blue ghost turned and favored Danny with a look that was a mix of annoyance, amusement, and queasiness. "For a super hero, you have a twisted sense of humor."

Danny shrugged, grinning with pride and mischief, though he did look very tired. "Crazy Stairs has been my favorite painting ever since Sam showed me a copy she owns. Her parents always hated it. Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm allowed, but if I _can_ do it, then ghost shouldn't be able to fly or shoot ecto-blasts in here." Clockwork nodded.

"Yes, you can do that. But why not let us fly?" Danny grinned.

"Because if you think this place is confusing to _walk_ through, just imagine trying to _fly_ in here." Clockwork gulped, and nodded.

"Alright. Very creative, Danny, but if you don't mind, I'd like to leave soon, so let's go to wherever you want to place the other door."

Danny nodded and started off along the twisted stairs and hallways, Clockwork following close behind. The two passed windows of the night sky, took in views of the room from every angle, and walked past archways that led further into the maze of stairs and halls. Clockwork frowned. "Danny, how large _is_ this place?" Danny only shrugged, still slightly pale from the effort of creating the large stone structure.

"I don't really know. You said this place should be as large as I could make it, so it's pretty big. But I didn't want people to just snoop around, or ghosts to figure out how to find the other door, so I made it like a maze. I figured since this is a private place for me, I could start filling it with private stuff, and that stuff should be hard to find." Danny smiled. "I'd just love to see Jazz try to find her way around in here." Danny's voice echoed off of the walls and floors of the odd pocket world he had made. Clockwork cocked an eyebrow.

"You mean you made separate rooms?" Danny frowned.

"I tried at first, but it didn't work. I guess this is supposed to all be _one room, _or I'm just not allowed to make more doors, so I made open arches that have small walled-in areas behind them. There are a lot of those, but there are hundreds of stairways and hallways. I think this place is almost as big as Vlad's…"

Half an hour of walking later, Danny and Clockwork reached a balcony similar to the one they started on, except this one ended at a blank wall. Danny turned to Clockwork questioningly.

"So, I just imagine where to put the other side of the door, and it'll appear right here?" Clockwork nodded. Danny stopped and concentrated for the third time. A pause and a ripple later, a second black door appeared in the wall, this time without the DP. "I put it in my house." Danny explained. "It's not somewhere my mom or dad should notice, but still, better safe than sorry. Let's go through. It'll be easier for you to take our portal back than to try and find the ghost door in here." With that, Danny and Clockwork passed through the black doorway, and found themselves in Danny's closet. There weren't any clothes hanging up, but there were a lot of them on the floor. Danny smiled.

"I'm supposed to use the closet for clothes, but never do. I'll just start stuffing them into drawers and keeping the closet doors shut to hide the _other_ door." Danny and Clockwork stepped into Danny's bedroom and Danny slid the closet doors shut behind him. "Thanks for everything, Clockwork. I'll visit sometime, okay? That door thing is really cool!"

"Goodbye, Danny." Clockwork phased through the floor, smiling. Danny returned to human form and went downstairs. His mom and dad were in the kitchen.

"Danny! Where have you been all afternoon? Sam and Tucker left for home an hour ago. And you missed dinner! The hotdogs didn't even have teeth this time."

"I've been in my room, mom." Danny said, smirking at the new hidden meaning. Maddie frowned.

"Alright, sweetie, but from now on you should at least walk your friends to the door. It's only polite." Danny nodded, thinking fast.

"Right. I feel kinda bad about that. Do you mind if I call them?" Maddie smiled and shook her head. "Thanks." Danny walked back up to his room, pulling out his cell phone and hitting Sam on speed dial.

"…Hello?" Sam's voice crackled through the phone. Danny sighed. He hadn't had a decent signal at home since the town forced his parents to line the basement walls with lead shielding.

"Hey Sam. It's Danny. Try and speak up, the signal isn't great. I just got back from the Ghost Zone and checked in with mom and dad, and I wanted to tell you that everything's okay."

"Really? So they told you how to fix the power thing? Tucker and I couldn't find a single thing online!" Danny frowned.

"No. But I have some good news anyway. Talk to you guys at lunch tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, Danny. I'll call Tucker for you. You just get some sleep."

"Right. Bye." After Sam hung up, Danny walked over to his bed and dropped his phone on the table. Well, the phone dropped itself, but Danny wasn't going to split hairs. It'd been a long day; he felt that a little slip was understandable. After a quick check that his alarm was still set, Danny strapped himself into bed and fell asleep. He was _definitely_ making the floating thing a priority.

The next day at lunch Sam and Danny sat down at the trio's usual table and waited for Tucker. Sam had changed back into her usual dark outfit, but Danny noticed with a thrill of pleasure that she was wearing the earrings he gave her. His mind wandered back to what Tucker said yesterday. Gulping slightly, he turned towards his friend and prepared to take his advice.

"Uh, Sam?" Danny turned slightly red. "I, um, wanted to ask you something. Do you-"

"Look! There's Tucker." Sam interrupted, pointing. Danny sighed and turned to look. Tucker and Valery were walking through the lunch line together. The two seemed to be discussing something, then broke off with a brief hug and headed towards their respective tables. A moment later, Tucker sat down beside Danny, a rapt look on his face.

"Valery and I are officially going to the dance together." A moment later he frowned and shot a glance at Danny. "She wanted to sit with me today. I told her I needed to talk with you about something private. This _better_ be important, man."

"It is!" Danny smiled. "The meeting with the council yesterday turned out great. According to them, Amity Park is now officially _my_ haunt. Other ghosts can't come here anymore unless someone here invites them!" Sam and Tucker looked stunned for a second, and then broke into identical grins.

"Danny! That's awesome! This means you'll finally have time to get your life back." Sam was smiling joyfully. "You'll have time for homework, friends…"

"Dates?" Danny asked quietly. Sam faltered, then fixed on a smile.

"S-sure, Danny. If you want to try again with Valery, you'll have time now. You don't even have to worry about her hunting you. Without the ghost attacks, you can stay human all the time, and-" Danny held up a hand, looking very nervous and slightly red.

"No, Sam. I meant, uh, with you." Sam froze, and stared at her friend in disbelief.

"Oh." Sam said in a quiet, strangled voice. Her and Danny's faces were positively glowing with the heat from their blushes. Tucker grinned.

"I think you two need a moment. I'll just go have lunch with Val, okay?" Tucker started to get up, but Danny reached around in a daze and grabbed his arm.

"Just meet me at my house after school, okay? I've got something to show you guys." Danny said in a calm, dazed voice. Tucker nodded and jogged off, leaving Sam and Danny alone. Sam cleared her throat, but otherwise didn't say a word.

Danny gulped. The table started phasing in and out. "So, uh, will you go out with me? I mean, besides to the dance. A movie or something. I mean, you can pick the place, but –"

"Danny," Sam said, grinning through her blush. "I'd love to."

Danny grinned. "Haven't we been here before?" He joked. They both shared a genuine laugh, and all the tension just started leaking away. The table rematerialized and the two friends reached under the table to retrieve their lunches. Sam beamed at Danny.

"You know, I was starting to think you would never ask." Sam said conversationally. Danny stopped under the table and shot her a surprised look.

"How long have you been waiting?" He asked, slightly red. Sam chuckled nervously as the two climbed back up to their seats.

"Actually, since my fourteenth birthday. When my parents marched me outside in that _horrible_ pink dress, you didn't laugh at me. You said 'You look great, Sam, but you look better when you're happy.' I know you were just teasing, but you understood _who_ I was, and you accepted me. Not even my parents do that! They had to threaten to send grams to a nursing home before I agreed to wear that stupid thing." Danny's eyes widened.

"They'd do that?" Sam snorted.

"They don't get her, either. The only reason she's still in the house is because I bribe them with a pink dress now and again. They don't really care if I'm happy, they just want to keep up appearances and stay in the yacht club." Sam looked down at the table, unhappily.

"But you've always been so determined, Sam. Why didn't you ask me? I've been kinda confused about all this stuff, but I've liked you for a long time, too. I just thought you were the type who'd ask first, so since you didn't you only saw me as a friend."

Sam blushed. "I, uh, was going to ask you that day in the lab, when you had the accident. But then after it happened, things just got so complicated. I couldn't tell you because you might have thought it was just because of Phantom. And you were so busy, and you needed me and Tucker as friends so much, I didn't want to risk it." Danny quirked an eyebrow, sipping at his diet coke and giving Sam and incredulous look.

"Why that day? It's not like it was that romantic or anything." Now Sam turned really red.

"Umm, it wasn't really planned. Right before you went into the portal, I changed my mind about asking. You just look really…uhh…really hot in spandex." Sam mumbled quickly. Danny spat up some soda and started coughing. The whole table floated up for a second and fell back down with a bang. The two automatically checked for witnesses, then fell into a _very_ awkward silence. Finally, Sam broke it, clearing her throat softly.

"So uh, what did you want to show Tucker and me after school?" Danny, obviously recovering from the shock, shot Sam a teasing smile.

"Sorry, Sam, it's a surprise. You'll have to wait just like Tucker. No matter how you think I look in spandex." Danny chuckled to himself, only slightly red. Sam scowled, then smirked. Standing up, Sam slinked her way around the table, swaying her hips back and forth. Then, she slid along the other bench right up to Danny's side and ran a finger down his forearm. Danny's mouth dropped open and his eyes bugged out.

"Please, ghost boy? You can tell _me_." Sam cooed in her best Paulina impression. Danny looked like he was about to pass out.

"Uhh, Sam, could you slide over a bit? I wanna go out, and I'm glad we've been talking and stuff. But this is kinda fast." Sam grinned and pushed up against his body, arching her back like a cat. Danny started floating up off of his seat. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pinned him down.

"But I _really_ want to know, Danny." She could feel his blush through the back of her neck.

"Okay, okay! Just…stop, okay?" Danny stuttered, beet red. Sam chuckled and slid over, then turned to face him.

"So what's up?" Danny opened his mouth, and then smiled slyly.

"I'm not telling!" With that, Danny leapt back from the table and sprinted out of the cafeteria, Sam trailing on his heels.

The entire cafeteria watched them run out in stunned silence, which was suddenly broken by a loud, rude "Whooooo!" Valery quickly elbowed the offender in the stomach.

"Shut up, Tucker."

"Are you mad, woman? I just made three hundred bucks!"


	7. Twists

Greetings! Kwatu Barada Nikto! (or something like that)

Wow, I feel really, _really_ loved. I jumped from 20 to 30 reviews inside a singe posting. One moment, I need to bask…there we go. Never thought this story would actually take. Anywho, pressing on.

To reviewers old and new, THANK YOU. Queen S, Hikaru, Horselvr, and Writer'sBlock: I too found Tucker funny at the end. Not really sure _where_ that came from, but I guarantee he's regretting it now! Thank you for your continued support.

Epona, once again you merit a personal shout for liking and recognizing Escher. Since I have to disclaim him later anyway, I'll mention him now. Yes, you are right, Danny's twisted little world is in fact based off of M.C. Escher's 'Relativity.' (However, I'll say right now that the night background is NOT from 'Another World II.' That's all Danny.) He only used an alias of the print. I wouldn't nitpick, but Sam's going to bring it up in this chapter, and Jazz in chapter 8, so I might as well nip this in the bud right now. I do relish the irony of it all; that Danny's favorite artist was an expert in and wrote two major publications on the relationship between extremely advanced geometry and artwork, and Danny hates math. XD

P.S. everyone, that piece looks really cool and can be found online.

And first time reviewers: Thanks to Id Pendemus, I'm glad you think everything's still IC. Also thanks to fan-girls2.0, lightanddarklove and Funkatron. Your support means the world, as I'm sure my obscenely long replies suggested.

All readers, I'm still listening for any criticism, constructive or otherwise. Preferably constructive. I really want to improve myself in any way I can, so please let me know how.

Right, First a new **DISCLAIMER**, then on with the show. I still do not own the rights to Danny Phantom and associated characters. I also do not own such artistic giants as M.C. Escher or DC comics, or the print 'Relativity,' or the 'Batman' and 'Superman' comics. Finally, while he may actually have lectured at the University of Brussels – it's likely, but I don't actually know for sure – I confess that any later stated meeting or interaction between M.C. Escher and the Danny Phantom character Samantha Manson's grandmother is entirely fictional. That is all.

Whew. Now that _that's_ all taken care of, here is chapter seven.

Crazy 'bout ya, (or maybe just crazy)

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 7 – Twists

The three friends met up at the end of the day, and walked towards Danny's house together. Tucker smirked at Danny and Sam through a black eye. "So, what happened at lunch today?"

The two friends turned red and started spluttering. Tucker held up his hand. "Never mind. I know nothing happened. But the whole school was talking about it. Valery took it really well, except for when I called her 'woman.'" Tucker winced, and reached up to touch his bruised face. "I guess she's over you too, Danny."

"That's a relief." Danny sighed. Sam shot him a dark look. "Don't worry Sam; I really want to go out with you. I just didn't want Valery to get hurt, that's all."

Tucker grinned. "Yeah, and Sam obviously wants to go out with _you_, Danny. Even Paulina said that move at lunch was a bit fast." Sam turned red as the three entered the Fenton house and started upstairs.

"I wasn't going anywhere with it, I just wanted Danny to tell me what's going on."

"Speaking of that, what's in your room that's so cool, anyway?" Tucker shot Danny a questioning look, and Danny grinned back in response. Not saying a word, Danny led the two across his bedroom to his closet doors, and pushed them open.

"That." The other two gawked for a moment at the black door that had apparently appeared in their best friend's closet overnight.

"Wh-what's that, Danny?" Tucker asked nervously.

"That's the other thing the Ghost Council did." Danny said smugly. "They told me I had to make a ghost door, like all those doors we see when we go exploring. Every ghost can make one, and they can make the inside look like whatever they want. Mine has a door at the back of my closet and another door by Clockwork's place." His two friends stared at the black door, and then beamed at Danny.

"That is so cool. What's the inside look like?" Danny just smirked.

"Come on in and see for yourselves." Without another word, he pushed the door open and the three walked inside. Danny's friends stared around at the insane layout of the labyrinthine stone room. Tucker looked ready to throw up. Sam's face twitched, and she suddenly burst out in happy laughter.

"Oh, wow! I always wanted to try living in a place like this! Ever since I saw this place on the print in grandma's room! This is so cool, Danny!" Sam said, spinning around and running along the stone staircases with a huge grin on her face. Danny laughed.

"Me, too. That's why I made it." Sam paused and beamed at him.

"You remember me showing you 'Relativity'? That was at least a year ago! I showed it to you after grandma gave it to me for my birthday. She said it was an exact reproduction, signed by the original artist. She was in a lecture he gave at the University of Brussels back in the fifties." Danny frowned.

"I always thought it was called Crazy Stairs." Sam smiled over at him from a separate staircase.

"No, some people call it that, but the print is actually called 'Relativity.' I don't remember the artist, but it was M.C. something. This is so cool! I can actually walk on all of the staircases, and I won't fall off!" Sam started running again. Danny and Tucker followed her path with their eyes.

"Careful not to get lost, I made it really confusing in here to keep ghosts from finding their way from one door to the other." Tucker turned to his friend, looking confused and slightly sick.

"Alright, two questions. First, how did you make all this in just a few hours? And second, didn't you say that ghosts can't get to Amity without an invitation?" Danny paused and then answered calmly.

"Well, I'm allowed to do anything with the walls and floors of this place that I want, within reason. And, I'm allowed to change some things about how stuff works here. That's why you won't fall off when a stairway is going sideways; the direction you fall changes depending on where you are. Also, I made it so ghosts can't fire weapons or fly in here, so they can't cheat to find the doors or hurt people. It's all in my head. And you're right. Ghosts can't go to Amity Park without permission unless I'm not there. But anyone who lives in Amity can give permission. So, I figured better safe than sorry." Danny looked around at the giant maze. "Besides, this place is really cool! I don't want it ruined by ghosts. It's considered part of Amity _and_ part of the Ghost Zone, so ghosts can still pop in here any time." Tucker shook his head, eyes firmly shut.

"I don't know, man. I like it better when down is always down." Danny chuckled, then grew serious.

"Look guys. This place is really big, so you probably shouldn't wander around on your own. If you want, you can each have a room to yourselves after I get settled in. I'd like you guys to come in here with me a lot. But we can work that out later. For now, I'll just show you the back door, and try to keep you guys from getting lost."

Sam called out from a stairway that climbed upside down that was above Danny and Tucker's heads. "Speaking of lost, could you tell me how to get back up there, Danny? I tried to figure it out myself, but wound up down here."

"Up? Down? But you're the one who's…and we're…never mind." Tucker looked even queasier. Danny called up/down to Sam.

"Just hold on, you're on the path to the back door anyway. Tucker and I will be along in a second." Danny immediately started off along one of the many paths, Tucker staying close behind. Sam called out to them.

"There's a room with a view right through this arch thing. I'll wait in there, okay?" Danny paused and shouted back.

"Sure, Sam. We're coming." Tucker shook his head as the two turned along a looped path and started walking upside down and underneath back the direction they had come from.

"Dude, how can you find your way around in here?" Danny shrugged.

"I made it. I guess part of how this place works is I can tell where everyone and everything is, and how to get there. Just stay with me. And please don't throw up! I can't make mops and cleaning stuff." A few minutes later, they met up with Sam and the three continued walking through the giant stone maze.

"Wow, this place is huge, and the night sky background is awesome. It seems pretty bare, though." Sam commented. Danny gave her a fake glare, then laughed.

"I know. I can only change the walls and scenery; I can't make stuff that can be moved around. I can't do _anything_ I want, just most stuff. Besides, most ghosts have had centuries to work on their lairs. This is pretty good for one day." Sam only shrugged, and the three pressed on. When they passed a larger arch opening to a broad hallway with star-filled windows on either side, Danny paused and gave Sam a playful look. "You want detail? Okay, how about this?" Danny closed his eyes and concentrated. A moment later, a long row of intricate round fountains grew out of the floor in the center of the hall and started shooting streams of water into the air. Trickles echoed through the private world as the water sprayed up, sparkling in the moonlight as it fell into the shallow pools below. As the hall stretched on, the path corkscrewed up around one wall until it looked like the fountains were shooting water down and it was falling up towards the ceiling. Sam's eyes lit up.

"Oh, wow. That's so incredibly beautiful." Sam breathed quietly. Danny looked at her.

"Yeah, it is." After a moment, the half ghost broke the silence, slightly red. "Right, only another ten minutes till we reach the other door." And the trio pressed on. When they reached the other door with its DP insignia, Tucker burst out laughing.

"Kind of painted a target on this place, huh?" Danny looked at the symbol.

"I didn't really think about it that way." His expression cleared. "Oh, well. The door's right by Clockwork's, and I think a lot of evil ghosts are scared of him. Besides, any ghost with half a brain would run right back out the door after one look at this place." With that, the three friends turned around and started back towards the 'front door.' About five minutes in, Danny paused and shot the others a questioning look.

"Did you guys want to see any of the other rooms?"

Tucker shrugged. "Is there anything special about them?" Danny started walking again, shaking his head.

"Not really. But we took the direct route from door to door. You didn't get to see anything. I guess there's not much to see right now, but…" Sam looked at Danny with wide eyes.

"How big _is _this place, Danny?" Danny smiled.

"Clockwork asked the same thing. I guess most ghosts don't put this much effort into their lairs, or they don't want this much room. But this place: it's big. I don't really know measurements and stuff, I'm no math genius. Besides, telling the difference between floor space and walls in here is kinda hard. If I had to guess, I'd say around the size of Vlad's place in Wisconsin. It's mostly halls and stairs, though. Not as many rooms." Tucker thought about this as the three walked along.

"So, is this like the 'Fortress of Solitude' for ghosts?" Tucker asked. Danny rolled his eyes.

"You watch too many cartoons, Tucker. These things are just places for ghosts to hang out, that's all. Every ghost has one, even the evil ones. Only Superman had a 'Fortress of Solitude.'" Tucker snorted.

"For the record, it was comic books, not cartoons. But you don't get it. This is a place where you can recharge, and hide stuff that has to do with your secret. I'll admit it's not like Superman's place in the comics, but it can serve the same purpose." Sam looked at Tucker as the three walked along.

"You know, that's not a bad idea, Tucker. But honestly, this place seems more like a 'Bat Cave' to me. Hidden door, creepy rooms, dark dank halls. Way cooler than a giant glowing ice cube." Tucker stared at Sam.

"Sam? You're into Batman? Jeez, we've been hanging out for how many years, and you still don't trust us enough to tell us everything?" Sam grinned.

"You never asked. Besides, you've _seen_ my swimming outfit. I just don't like giving everything away at once. What point is there to life without a few surprises, or a small mountain of original prints in the back of a closet?" Danny smiled.

"So you like the place, right?" Sam laughed quietly and smiled.

"I could totally hang out here." She stretched her arms up luxuriously, then turned and glanced at Danny. "Can I bring my parents?" Danny grinned evilly.

"Sure, Sam. Any time. I'm thinking of inviting Jazz soon." The three friends laughed a moment, then Sam stopped and faced Danny eye to eye.

"And, Danny? Just so you know, if I get to have some space here, I'd like to be by those fountains." Without another word, she turned and continued walking. Tucker snickered as Danny blushed.

"Let's just get out of here, okay? We can do that sort of stuff after Danny figures things out. I don't know why you two like this place so much, but if I'm here much longer I think I'm gonna throw up." The new couple snickered, and sped up. Twenty minutes later, the three stepped out of the human door, and back into Danny's room. Tucker fell to his knees and hugged the floor.

"Oh, sweet sweet gravity! You're always so predictable!" Sam and Danny rolled their eyes and hauled him to his feet. They were just starting downstairs when Jazz came in. She looked pale.

"Danny? You guys should watch the news with me, quick. Mom and dad are at City Hall with the mayor." Danny gulped, and the four friends shuffled into the living room and flicked on the television. The mayor was addressing the crowd from behind a raised podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Due to the extreme amount of property damage incurred over the last year because of ghosts, I have met with members of the city council and together we have thought up a way to combat this menace. Because of his personal involvement in almost every major ghost attack, I am hereby officially placing a fifty thousand dollar bounty on Inviso-Bill. Whoever captures the infamous ghost boy will be rewarded the full sum of the bounty, and the ghost will then be 'neutralized' and studied. Now, it is my great pleasure to give the floor to Jack and Maddie Fenton." Applause filled the room as Danny's parents took the stage. Back home, Jazz Sam and Tucker were staring at the TV in shock, and Danny had phased halfway through the floor.

"Thank you, mayor." Maddie's sweet tone immediately turned militant. "All right. Jack and I have been hunting the ghost boy for a whole year now, and we can tell you first hand that he's not to be taken lightly. Inviso-Bill is very powerful and very dangerous. But Jack and I are confident in our ability to capture him and every other ghost we come across. You hear me, ghosts! Do your worst, we're ready for you!" Applause once again broke out in front of City Hall as the Fentons stepped down and the mayor once again climbed up to address the crowd.

"I am sure everyone present appreciates all that you have done for our fair city. In closing, I must urge you all to use caution. The City Council only agreed to this plan after reviewing the results of the million dollar bounty issued last year. While fifty thousand is not as much, we are using this money to attract _professional_ ghost hunters. For your own safety, please do not make any attempt to attack a ghost unless you are properly prepared and willing to accept all of the risks involved. Finally, the government agency Guys in White has agreed to turn over this mission to local hunters, provided they are allowed to do a private dissection once Jack and Maddie are finished with the remains."

Jazz's voice came out very small and shaky. "R-Remains?"

Tucker and Sam gave each other frightened looks. But then Danny said something that really freaked them out.

"Guys? Did that threat sound like an invitation to you?"


	8. Turns

Hey Everybody!

Wow, just…wow. I seem to be getting more and more reviews. I'm not sure if my pleas for criticism worked, or if more people are reading, but whatever. I'm just glad to have them. Speaking of which: (bum bum buum)

Psyche! PLEASE, don't feel bad, anyone who reviewed. They mean everything to me, I just got so many long ones that proper responses will have to stay private this time. Otherwise, this shout-out will be like 2 pages long, and no one wants that.

I will mention the new reviewers, though. Esme Kali Phantom and Acosta parez jose Ramiro, thank you for your kind words and support. I hope to hear from you again, but be warned: my responses tend to become obscenely long.

And, special shout to Ummari the Cranky for sending me a bit of constructive criticism, I really do appreciate these things, and will personally admit that writing assertive women is hard for me. Glad to know what to work on.

Finally, all credit/blame for the last two paragraphs and the follow up later must go to Epona Harper, writer of very involved reviews. This amusing sub-plot was mentioned in a review a while back and it didn't take much effort to work it in, so I just couldn't resist. If you don't like it, yell at Epona. DON'T HURT ME! Okay, you can yell at me, too. : )

Luck and Happiness in everything you do. For now.

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 8 – Turns

Jazz turned her attention to Danny for the first time since tuning into the news. "Danny! Get out of the floor before mom and dad get here! And what did you mean by 'invitation'?" Danny sighed and pulled himself out of the floor.

"Well, yesterday afternoon I was taken before the Ghost Council on charges." Jazz gasped and Danny rushed ahead. "But, nothing bad happened. They told me that Amity Park is considered mine, now. Other ghosts aren't allowed to come here anymore." Jazz looked mildly pleased, but still very confused.

"Okay, that sounds good, so I'll just go with it for now. But what does that have to do with an invitation?" Danny hesitated.

"Well, they said that ghosts _can_ come here if a local invites them." Jazz still looked confused, but then realization dawned and she groaned, plopping her face down into open palms.

"I knew mom and dad's sick ghost obsession would come back to haunt them someday." Sam laughed quietly. Jazz looked up and scowled. "Okay, I suppose 'haunt' is a little too appropriate. But it isn't funny, Sam." Tucker looked away from the screen and joined in.

"It's worse than that. Not only are the ghosts coming back, but if Danny goes ghost to fight them, every ghost hunter in five miles will be all over his butt." Danny smacked his forehead. The three others turned to look his way.

"Ahh! It's worse than that. Since Amity Park is _my_ haunt, the only way to get rid of the ghosts for good is for me to personally throw each of them out. Otherwise they can keep coming back." Sam looked up and frowned.

"So, to sum things up: First, we're looking at a whole new wave of ghosts invading. Second, there's a fifty thousand dollar bounty on Danny's head to draw every single ghost hunter on earth down on his ghost half. Third, if Danny doesn't fight these ghosts himself, they can just keep coming back. Fourth, even when he's human, Danny's control is slipping and he's giving off huge ghost vibes all the time, which will draw the hunters toward him and put his secret at risk. Oh, and let's not forget that all his usual problems with school and parents and Valery are still there." Danny collapsed back against the wall, and Tucker cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Wow, Danny. This is pretty bad, even for you. Look, Sam and I need to get home before our parents start freaking out. You don't need another restraining order on top of all that. We'll both try and figure out a way to help. See you tomorrow?" Danny nodded mutely, and suddenly flickered to the other side of the room, falling out of midair.

"Ow! WHY THE HECK IS THIS HAPPENING!" Danny shouted at the top of his lungs. Green energy briefly shot from his mouth, and the entire house shook. Danny gasped and clapped both hands firmly over his mouth. A few moments later, the front door opened and the Fentons barreled in.

"Danny! You're home! Did you give Tucker and Sam the ghost-goopers like I told you?" Jack smiled hugely at everyone. Danny seemed at a loss.

"Uhh…I uh…"

"Yes, sir, mister Fenton!" Tucker said, standing up. "We both got one of the weird coin things and took them with us yesterday!" Sam looked confused, but he quickly nudged her with his elbow.

"Wha – ow! – uhh…I mean…Yeah, sure we did! We both left them behind though, so we should go home as fast as we can. Want to stay prepared, right?" She shot Jack a winning smile that looked like it was hurting the corners of her mouth. Jack beamed back.

"You got that right, kids! Hurry home, and make sure you carry something with the word Fenton on it everywhere you go!" Sam and Tucker ran from the room as fast as their legs could carry them. The next minute Maddie walked in and stood by her husband.

"Alright, kids. In case you missed it on TV, the mayor has offered a large reward for Inviso-Bill's capture. Since this is so important to the town, and maybe our family reputation, Jack and I have decided to make an exception to our usual rules and take you two out hunting with us! Won't that be fun? We can blast that ghost to bits as a family!" The excited huntress looked from one face to the other. Jazz looked terrified; probably afraid of ghosts, Maddie thought. Danny just looked sick. It didn't help that his hands were still up by his mouth. "Kids? Are you two okay? We really need your help on this one; the family name might be at stake. You don't have to be afraid of ghosts, you know."

Jazz couldn't help chuckling at that. Danny chuckled too. Then he started giggling. Moments later he suddenly broke out in a laughing fit, bending forward and gasping between laughs. Jazz looked over at him, annoyed by his carelessness, but stopped mid-lecture when she saw his face. Danny wasn't amused, he was in hysterics!

Jazz rushed over to her brother and gripped him by the shoulders, holding him up and looking into his eyes. "Danny, are you okay?" Both parents were totally forgotten. She wasn't sure if Danny was laughing or crying.

"N-no, ha, not, ha ha, really, hahaha! Hahaha!" Danny laughed/sobbed back. His eyes lit up with a green ghostly light. Jazz paled, and started shaking her brother as hard as she could.

"Danny! Snap out of it! Everything will be okay, calm down! Just. Calm. Down." Slowly, and with a great deal of strain, Danny choked back the laughter, tears running down his face. Jazz pulled her brother into a hug. Finally, with a hiccup and one last snort, his eyes flashed back to blue, and he took a deep, shuddering breath.

"Thanks, Jazz." He said in a small voice. His older sister smiled sadly and pulled back, lightly brushing a tear off his cheek.

"Don't worry about it, Danny. Everything's okay." Both stiffened suddenly when Maddie cleared her throat, and turned to view their very concerned-looking parents.

"Danny? What's wrong, honey?" Maddie came over, brushing her son's forehead and cupping his chin. Jack stood in the doorway with a frown, looking puzzled and worried. Danny shuddered, and choked out a reply.

"N-nothing, mom. I had a really long day at school. This whole ghost-hunting thing just caught me off guard. Things have been really…complicated…lately. I'm feeling kind of stressed, that's all." Maddie smiled reassuringly at her son.

"That's okay, Danny. Your father and I only planned on taking you two with us on weekends anyway. School still comes first. And I promise that you won't get hurt while we go ghost hunting." Danny's eye ticked for a second, and Jazz decided to get him out of there before things got really bad.

"Err, maybe you should head upstairs and get some rest, Danny. You seem pretty burnt out." She reached out and took her brother's hand. "Come on, I'll take you." Jazz slowly led Danny into the hallway and to the stairs. On the way, she shot Jack a glance, and saw him shoot her an encouraging grin. As she turned away, her father frowned in thought. Jack wasn't always the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he knew Danny needed some rest, even if he didn't know why his son was so upset about hunting ghosts. Shrugging, the ghost hunter headed downstairs to get to work on some new equipment. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Once up in Danny's room, Jazz sat down at the foot of the bed as her brother collapsed on top.

"Ohh, man. How am I going to get out of this? If mom and dad catch me, I'll be exposed. If they don't, our family will be humiliated. If I fight the ghosts, I'm dead. If I don't fight, people get hurt and I'm _still_ dead. They want me to hunt Inviso-Bill with them, but that's totally pointless, and dangerous. Not only won't we catch…me… but every other ghost gets a free ride because _I can't fight them_." The bed phased out, dropping both siblings onto the floor. "And I still don't know why my powers are getting so weird!" Danny moaned, climbing back up onto the bed and rolling over. Jazz stood back up, too.

"Just give it some time, Danny. I'm sure things will work out." Jazz froze. "Wait! Danny, you could go ask Cuckoo for help!" She said with excitement. Danny turned on his side and stared, completely lost.

"Who?" Jazz started pacing the floor.

"You know, that ghost that likes you. I only glimpsed him this one time. You never told me his name, and I stopped reading your ghost files after you told me to back off, so I just call him Cuckoo. You know, because he looks like a cuckoo clock with the pendulum and stuff." Jazz explained. Suddenly, Danny's mouth twitched and he started laughing uncontrollably, pounding his fists into the mattress.

"Danny!" Jazz panicked, thinking he was going into hysterics again. But then, Danny calmed down.

"Thanks, Jazz. I _really_ needed that. _Cuckoo_…" Danny laughed again. "His name is _Clockwork_. And actually," he said, giving her a thoughtful look, "that's not a bad idea. I told him I'd be dropping by anyway." Danny got up off the bed and transformed into his ghost half. "Come on." He said, looking at Jazz. She froze, taken aback.

"What? _Me_? But why am I going?" Danny smiled at her.

"A couple reasons. First, I want to show you my cool new shortcut to Clockwork's place." Danny said, walking for some strange reason towards his closet doors. Jazz followed hesitantly. "Second, I might need you to explain things to me. Clockwork's nice, but he tends to go over my head." Danny reached down and gripped the closet door. Jazz shot him a questioning look. "And third," Danny explained chuckling, "I want you to be there when he hears his new nickname." Without another word, Danny yanked the closet open, revealing a strange black door. Jazz gasped, and stared.

"Danny? What's that?" Danny smirked.

"It's my ghostly lair…" Danny wailed at her, giving a theatrical wave of his hands. Jazz rolled her eyes and gave her brother a playful shove.

"Danny. Come on be serious." Danny gave her a look.

"I am serious, that's sort of what it is. The Ghost Council said that I had to make a door, like the ones we see everywhere in the Ghost Zone. The ones that lead to a ghost's lair. Mine just has a human door, too, 'cause they said it had to lead to wherever I'm haunting on the human side." Danny shrugged, and opened the black door, throwing out his hand with a grin. "Ladies first." Jazz walked inside in front of Danny and froze, gasping.

"Danny, hunting ghosts with you for the past year has seriously increased my tolerance for weird, but this is _really_ pushing it." Danny grinned.

"Isn't it cool? Ghosts are allowed to do a lot of stuff in their lairs. So I did this." He said, gesturing broadly. Jazz looked ill.

"But 'Relativity?' Danny, this might not be a good indicator of mental health…" Danny pouted.

"Does everyone know the name of that stupid print but me?" Jazz smiled.

"There was a section on Escher in one of my psychology books, mostly as a side note. I think it was about 'skewed perceptions of reality.'" Jazz looked around. "Actually, I know that's where it was." Danny grabbed Jazz's hand, and started leading her along the path to the other door.

"Come on, the other door opens up in the Ghost Zone near Clockworks. We should hurry. Mom and dad are probably busy getting ready to hunt me, so we have a few hours. But we shouldn't push it." Jazz quirked an eyebrow.

"How long does it take to reach the far door?" Danny didn't even look at her, but kept walking.

"If you know the fastest way, about half an hour if you hurry. But if you don't know your way around, I don't think you could find your way back out of here. I made this place to confuse and trap invading ghosts, and it's pretty big, so you can get lost really easy." Jazz followed close behind her brother, looking around.

"I've seen the print before, but what's with the night sky behind the windows? In the print, the outside shows a sunny park, or something." Danny smiled to himself.

"I though the moon and stars looked cooler." Jazz looked stunned.

"You really made all this on your own?"

"Yes." Danny responded simply. Jazz followed numbly for a good ten minutes, taking it all in. Her brother was a lot more complex than she gave him credit for. And if that book about reality perception was right, he had a lot more issues than she thought, too. After rounding a particularly impossible corner, Jazz spied a spiraling hallway filled with fountains.

"That hallway's different. Why is that?" Danny blushed.

"Well…Sam kinda thought this place looked bare, so I exerted myself a bit." He said, shrugging it off. Jazz beamed.

"That's really sweet, Danny. I'll bet she loved it."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Danny muttered, but Jazz thought he was smiling. Shortly after that, the two reached a second black door, this one with a DP symbol on it.

"Do you think it was smart to shout out whose door this is like that?" Jazz asked worriedly. Danny snorted.

"Tucker said the same thing. I still think it doesn't matter. Any ghost dumb enough to try reaching Amity through here will be stuck good. No way they'll figure out how to reach either door once they set off." Danny pushed open the door, revealing the swirling cold abyss of the ghost zone. Wrapping one arm around his sister's waist, the young ghost took off into the green realm, closing the door behind him. "Let's just get to Clockwork's place and get some answers. It shouldn't take long." The two siblings gazed at the castle in the distance, determination etched in their features.

A few minutes later, Technus, master of all small beeping things, stood by the new black door and watched the two leaving. Grinning, the technological terror turned and faced the black door. "Well well well. The ghost child has created a second, secret way into his world. How convenient!" Cackling, the white-haired spook flew through the door and shut it again behind him.

Far up in his castle, Clockwork, master of time, watched the evil specter pass through the door, and grinned.


	9. Changes

Hello, Readers. Blessings upon you. ;)

Sorry about the brief delay after I fell onto page 2, but this morning the entire FanFiction site wouldn't pop up. If you're willing, I'd appreciate it if a reviewer would please let me know if this is a normal thing. It's never happened to me before, so I just don't know.

That said, welcome to Idiots Unite and Leah Fenton. I'm glad to have some new names on the review list, and a broader span of criticism. Everything helps, and I greatly appreciate the support.

To all others who have recently reviewed, thanks again for the help and support, I've been here long enough now to know that things would not be nearly as cool without you.

And, to all readers, I'm still listening. Any quibbles, quabbles, or whatever, just ring me up. I want and will respond to your opinions, and getting them is the only way I can improve. Here's hoping for contact! XD

Finally, the ending to this one is evil, but I'm NOT falling into a cliché. (I hope. The battle against it is constant and bloody.) I promise. To those of you who saw this chapter coming (Cough, Esme, Cough) I hope it doesn't disappoint. That's all I'll say here, I don't want to spoil anything.

Cheers,

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 9 – Changes

"Danny. And Jazz. Hello. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Clockwork asked mildly. The powerful blue ghost stood to the side and ushered the two into his large floating castle. The two ghosts floated down a side hallway and into a comfortable study, Jazz walking slowly behind. Eyes wide, she stared left and right, taking everything in and talking absently to herself.

"Amazing. What moves all of those gears?" Danny and Clockwork sat down in two red lounge chairs, and Jazz hurried over to join them.

"Sorry, Clockwork, I'm here for some answers." Danny said apologetically. "I know you probably get that a lot with the whole 'I know everything' thing, but I really – "

Clockwork held up a pacifying hand. "Danny, please. Relax. I'm used to this. Why do you think you're the only…er…"

"Friend?" Jazz suggested. Clockwork flushed slightly, then continued.

"The only _friend_ I've made in living memory. It can become very irritating, answering everyone's questions all the time." Seeing the look of guilt on Danny's face, he hurried on. "But I _am_ your friend, Danny. I'm perfectly willing to answer your questions. What are you having trouble with?" Danny sighed, and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples.

"Do you have a year?" He asked tiredly. "I only want help with one of my problems; I think the others will sort themselves out eventually." Clockwork nodded sympathetically.

"I know all about your troubles, Danny. Which one did you want to ask about?" Danny turned towards Clockwork and quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't you know already?" Clockwork smiled.

"Yes, I do. But it's usually better for everyone if I let conversations progress as normally as possible. Otherwise, my abilities can start to grate on the nerves." Danny shot Jazz a sideways glance.

"Yeah, I can understand that." He turned back towards the master of time, ignoring Jazz's irritated scowl. "Alright. My powers are _way_ higher than they should be, at least as far as the Guys in White understand. And I can't control them anymore. Just an hour ago, I almost destroyed our house!" Clockwork nodded.

"What do you want to know?"

"_WHY_! Why is this happening, and how do I make it STOP?" Danny shouted. Jazz rested a calming hand on her brother's shoulder, and both turned to watch Clockwork. The older ghost paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, the started in with an explanation.

"Well, Danny. The 'problem' is not from being half ghost. Your condition is completely unique. Not even Plasmius is quite like you." Danny looked confused, so with a brief reassuring smile, Clockwork continued. "The difference between you two is not so much in the nature of your…contamination. It is in your ages. When the two of you were exposed to the ghost portals, you had ectoplasm from the Ghost Zone bonded onto your DNA. Your ghost forms are created by that ectoplasm following the cellular instructions on that DNA and attempting to form physical bodies. But while Plasmius was exposed in early adulthood, you were exposed as a teenager." Jazz's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh!" Clockwork favored her with a smile and turned back to a still-confused Danny.

"While mister Master's DNA has always encouraged a stable form, _yours_ is sending out instructions that encourage instability. Change. _Growth_." Now Danny's eyes widened. Clockwork looked at his young friend and smiled. "Ghost forms can change, Danny, you've seen it. But physical changes don't really matter much to ghosts. To us, it's all about power. Because of this, your ghost form has done the best it can to follow the instructions laid down by the DNA it is bonded to. It has started accumulating and holding more energy." Danny sat there for a moment, staring off into space.

"Soo…my ghost half is having a…growth spurt?" He asked incredulously. Clockwork nodded.

"Something like that. Like I said, your case is unique. Ectoplasm doesn't do this naturally, it is meant to build in strength gradually over time. Loss of control is understandable. You aren't used to containing all that energy, so it is always slipping out. I myself can do nothing to help you with that problem, only offer the assurance that things will slow back down again soon. However, there is someone who can…" Danny paused thoughtfully, then stood up, realization dawning.

"Vlad! He can help!" Jazz looked at her little brother open-mouthed.

"Danny? Did you hit your head or something? Vlad hates me, he wants to kill dad, date mom, and control you. How and _why_ would he possibly help?" Danny turned to his sister and grinned.

"Because," he explained, "he has the Plasmius Maximus. It temporarily drains all my power. I could use it during the day to stop the slips _and_ keep under the ghost hunters' radar, then let it wear off after school so I can go into my room and practice with control!" Danny said happily, pacing with excitement. "It's perfect!" Jazz frowned.

"Not quite, Danny. How are you going to get it, ask? He'd never just let you have it. And if you told him what was going on, he'd try to find a way to take advantage of your problem and start some sort of plot." Her brother visibly deflated, then perked up.

"I'll just take it. Vlad would let me have it if he knew what was going on anyway. He may hate me, but this puts _both_ our secrets at risk." Danny's voice turned bitter. "Besides, like you said, he'd love for me to be powerless. At least if I just go take it, he won't know anything's wrong, and we won't have to deal with him on top of everything else." Jazz nodded.

"Alright. I don't like stealing, but I think in this case I'll make an exception." She turned towards Clockwork. "Do you have any advice?" Clockwork settled back in his seat and regarded her passively.

"Only not to be surprised by anything, and to keep your guard up. You have a good plan. I would make small talk, but you are on a tight schedule, and if you want to get home without arousing suspicion, you should head to Vlad's immediately." Danny nodded and stood up.

"Come on, Jazz. Let's go. Thanks for everything, Clockwork." Clockwork smiled.

"Not calling me 'Cuckoo' was thanks enough, Danny." Jazz stared at him in shock.

"How did you-" The ghost held up a hand.

"I know everything, remember? And you're wasting time." Clockwork shot the pair a shooing gesture and vanished. The two walked briskly out of the castle and flew towards the giant purple football, Danny's arm once again around his sister's waist. Jazz turned to Danny mid-flight.

"Why do you think Vlad used his portal as his door? You'd think he'd want a lair. I mean, he seems the type." Danny shrugged with one shoulder while holding Jazz up with his other arm.

"I don't know. Maybe because the mansion's his haunt, and he doesn't want ghosts touching his stuff." Jazz frowned.

"But if that's his haunt, how could you get there? That time he held the college reunion-"

"Invited."

"Fine, but the DALV thing-"

"Was in Colorado, not Wisconsin. And I was invited to that, too."

"Hmm…That weird other future where I blew up, you went to live with him."

"Yes, but he agreed to it. I was sort of invited that time, too."

"Oh. What about that time I went under cover? Or that thing with Danni?"

"Both times I was knocked out and _dragged_ to Vlad's. I didn't want to be there. No invitation needed." Jazz thought a moment.

"You know what, I think you're right. That mansion _is_ Vlad's haunt." Jazz stopped, and turned to her brother. "But how are you supposed to get in?" Danny smiled.

"I don't. You do." Jazz paled. "Come on, Jazz, you're the only one who can. I'm not allowed to go there uninvited, but Vlad won't be expecting you." Danny gave her a winning smile.

"Ohh…okay, Danny. But only because you really need this thing." Jazz paused. "What's it look like, anyway?"

"Kind of like a taser. He labels his stuff, I think. Once you get it, just jump back through the portal and I'll catch you." Danny's face grew serious. "Then we take off as fast as we can." A long flight later, the two stood before the swirling ghost portal. "Here goes everything." Danny said, throwing Jazz through the gateway.

"Danny! Oof! Ow!" Jazz rubbed her sore shoulder, wincing at the ache, then stood and looked around the dark creepy lab. "Right, where is that thing?" Moving along the rows of tables and electronics, Jazz set about looking for the Plasmius Maximus. She didn't even notice the red eyes watching her silently from the shadows.

"Let's see…prototype weapon, ectoplasm samples, account book – wow he's rich, doctored wedding picture with him and mom – _very_ creepy, Plasmius Maximus, Skeleton Key…wait!" Jazz backed up and lifted the small device. "Wow, it really does look like a taser. I just hope this thing will get rid of Danny's powers. Better get out of here before something catches me." Jazz hurried over to the portal and jumped out, leaving behind a very confused Plasmius.

"Young Daniel wants to strip himself of his powers? Why on earth would he want to do that? Or perhaps…have he and his sister fallen out? Or is she worried about his behavior? Could he have finally realized what his powers can really do?" The ghost's eyes lit with the possibilities. "I think I'll follow young Jasmine and look in on Daniel. And just in case…" The sinister half-ghost reached over and picked up a small device labeled 'Counter-Maximus.' "No sense risking my own powers, and I might need it for…other reasons." The half-ghost grinned. Without another word, Vlad took off through the portal and watched.

Danny was idly floating around beneath the portal and scratching an itch behind his left ear when Jazz shot out and started plummeting to the ground below.

"Yaaah!" Danny flew over and quickly caught his sister.

"Did you get it?" Jazz was shaking from the drop, but managed to recover enough to answer.

"Yes. I got it. I don't think anything followed us. But just in case, let's hurry." Danny nodded. Suddenly his ghost sense went off. The hybrid froze and scanned the area. "Danny? What's wrong?"

"Ghost Sense." Danny said curtly, eyes still searching the horizon. Jazz rolled her eyes.

"Danny, it's the _Ghost_ Zone, of _course_ there will be ghosts." Danny nodded absently.

"Yeah, I guess…" The two flew through the green swirling world side by side, Vlad trailing close behind. "Let's just get back to the house. Mom and dad will still be in the lab working so they probably haven't noticed we're not home. You can give me the first…err…treatment, once we're back in my room." Shortly after Clockwork's castle came in sight, the two reached the black DP door and went back into Danny's private room. Vlad slowed to a stop outside the door and smiled.

"So, young Daniel has been declared owner of Amity Park, and has constructed a door. I'll need to head home at once and procure an invitation from his fool father. I'm sure he'd like a visit." Chuckling darkly, Masters flew back home. He had a phone call to make.

Danny transformed back to his human form as he led Jazz through the twisting passages of his ghostly lair. Suddenly, he froze, a strange look crossing his face. "Someone's in here." Jazz looked over at him.

"How can you tell?" Danny shook his head.

"I don't know…but there _is_ someone in here. This way!" Without another word, Danny hurried off down a side hall and rushed past arches and stairs, practically running. Jazz could only just keep up.

"Danny, slow down! Are you even sure there's someone…here." Jazz finished dumbly as she saw Technus sitting on a step on some separate passageway. Catching sight of the two teens, the master of technology stood and started shouting.

"Young persons! Cower in fear, for I, TECHNUS, MASTER OF…Oh, forget it." Technus moaned, sinking onto his knees. The bespectacled ghost lifted his face and turned pleading eyes on Danny and Jazz. "Please! I beg you! Capture me and lead me out of this horrible place!" Danny stared.

"Are you kidding me?" Technus glared at him, eyes flashing with anger and fear.

"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M KIDDING? WHAT SORT OF TWISTED PLACE IS THIS ANYWAY! NOTHING MAKES SENSE IN HERE!" Danny and Jazz backed up a step from the outburst. Technus continued on as though he hadn't noticed.

"Blow me up! Suck me in a thermos! Anything! I'd rather spend an eternity in level zero than another five minutes in here!" Danny stood frozen for another few seconds, then shrugged. Grinning, he pulled out a thermos and fired.

"If you insist!" Technus was suddenly pulled from the step and sucked into the blue device.

"Thaaaank Youuuuuu." He called out in his high, nasally voice as he vanished into the capturing device. Jazz grinned, and turned to Danny.

"Well, I guess this place does a pretty good job freaking ghosts out after all." The two laughed the whole way to the human door.

Once on the other side, Jazz turned to Danny and pulled out the Plasmius Maximus. "Okay, Danny. You sure you want to do this." Danny nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure. And don't worry, Jazz. It only lasts three hours." Jazz nodded, then hit Danny in the side with the evil-looking device.

"Aahhh!" Danny screamed as the current arched through his body. Jazz gasped, and pulled back as fast as she could, the Maximus dropping to the floor with a clatter.

"Danny! Are you okay?" Danny groaned, panting with sudden fatigue, then stood.

"Just a sec." His arms shot up into the air and he closed his eyes. Nothing happened. Letting his arms drop back down, Danny grinned. "Yep. Just fine."

"It worked?" Jazz asked, incredulous. Danny nodded.

"Yeah, it did." He looked over at the clock. "Alright, it's eight thirty. That means that the Maximus will wear off at eleven thirty. I'll grab half an hour of practice and dose myself again. I won't need those stupid belts!" Jazz smiled at her brother.

"Okay, Danny. I'm glad we found a solution, even if it is sort of temporary. I'm gonna go to bed. See you tomorrow." Without another glance, Jazz walked out of Danny's bedroom and closed the door. Danny looked around for a way to kill three hours, and his eyes rested on his backpack.

"Oh, yeah. What better way to kill three hours than Homer?" He asked sarcastically. Sighing to himself, Danny sat down at his desk and started reading about the Trojan War. Surprisingly, the book got really good after a while, and time started to fly by. The next time he looked up, it was 11:45.

"Wow. Maybe I should try reading some of the other books Lancer assigns." Danny said to himself. Stretching, he got up from his desk and went over to his closet door. "Right, so just a quick workout, then off to bed." Danny shut his eyes and shoved his hands in the air.

Nothing happened.


	10. Traps

Hi!

Okay, this one's kinda short. Sorry, bit of a transition period, couldn't be helped, et cetera. Please don't hate me!

Anyway, welcome to The Demon Inside. Hope you enjoy the whole thing.

Lightanddarklove, Esme, Meagainsttheworld, Epona, Queen S: Your continued support means everything. And, your comments on this one were much appreciated. Glad it wasn't too cliché and all theories were appreciated and enjoyed. Thank you.

Well that's it on this one. Hope you like Chapter 10. I won't be back until midday tomorrow at the soonest, even if the story slips off page 1. Got stuff to do, and stuff. Sorry. Can't be helped. :(

Much Love,

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 10 – Traps

Danny, still human, stood silently in his bedroom, staring at a dressing mirror. After five more attempts at transforming, he was ready to admit that something was very wrong. Numbly, he walked slowly towards the small device lying near his closet door.

"What the heck is going on?" He asked, horrified. Reaching down with trembling hands, Danny picked up the Plasmius Maximus and gave it a look over with wide frightened eyes. Turning it on its side, he noticed a dial built into the side of the handle. Around the outside were the numbers one through eight, followed by a second eight, this one sideways. Danny scratched his head at that, but his face brightened when he saw the position of the dial. It was set on five.

"Ohh…so you can set how long this thing works! Guess I should have checked that first." Danny grinned in embarrassment and relief. "Right. I'll try going ghost again in the morning, just in case." Still pale from shock, Danny went over to his bed and lied down.

About four hours later, Danny woke up shivering. Blue mist still pouring from his mouth, Danny's eyes shot open and quickly scanned the room, narrowing dangerously. He was so focused on finding the ghost that it was almost twenty seconds before he realized he was floating again.

"Whoa!" Danny fell back onto his bed. Groaning, he rolled off and stood up, still scanning the room. "Well at least that time I was still over my bed. And I guess I was right about the dial thing, too." Finally, the young ghost hunter caught sight of a blue and pink blur streaking past his window. Careful not to wake his parents, Danny ran towards the wall, transforming just in time to phase through and follow the invading ghost.

"Hey!" The pink and white pajama'd ghost turned around and flashed Danny a hopeful smile.

"Will you be my _Friend_?" Danny groaned.

"Klemper. It's four in the morning. _Please_ just go away." Klemper's eyes watered.

"You _won't_ be my Friend?" The sad ghost sucked in a deep breath and shot ice from his mouth. Danny quickly dodged the beam, eyes burning with anger.

"Look. I don't know what I can do right now, but I'll bet it hurts a lot more than usual. Leave. NOW!" Danny shouted at the annoying ghost, hands charged up with green energy. Klemper rushed at Danny, trying to pin him in a bear hug. With a feral cry, Danny released the pent-up energy and launched the cold spirit backwards into a building. Shockwaves from the blast rippled outwards, causing nearby windows to crack slightly. Klemper looked up, dazed and winded.

"Why won't you be my friend!" The pathetic ghost called out plaintively. Danny sighed, and sucked him up.

"Because, you're evil. And annoying." He said, mostly to himself. "And you just cost me a lot of sleep." Danny was about to fly back inside when a red beam struck him in the back and sent him flying to earth. Rubbing his head, he stood up in the latest crater he'd help make to see a red-clad huntress on a flying hover board. "Valery!"

"Better believe it, ghost!" The angry girl said viciously. "I thought you might try attacking the Fentons after that reward went up, so I staked out their house. Now you're all mine!" Danny's glance shot from Valery to his house, then back to Valery.

"No, wait! This isn't what it looks like! There was a ghost and-"

"Shut up! Quit trying to trick me! There's no way I'd _ever_ let some ghost hurt Danny, or his parents!" Valery started shooting again with her ecto-weapons, Danny flying off ahead, dodging as they went.

"Wow. I've gotta be the _only_ guy someone could be trying to save and kill at the same time." Suddenly, Valery zipped under him and pulled up ahead, forcing him to stop suddenly. "Look, I'm not in full control of my powers right now! I don't want to hurt you, but if you keep this up, I might by accident. Please, just leave me alone!" Valery's eyes narrowed.

"You destroy my stuff, get my dad fired, attack the town, attack _me_, and now you're after Danny. And you expect me to just leave you ALONE! NO WAY!" Valery let out a scream of hate as she fired a barrage of rockets at Danny's head. Startled, the ghost boy cringed for a second, and suddenly teleported behind Valery. Opening his eyes, the ghost blinked twice, and grinned.

"Okay, that may have been an accident, but it was still _really _cool." Said Danny. "How'd I do that?" Following his voice, Valery spun around and fired off another round. Danny immediately took off again, barely staying ahead of Valery. "Focus, Danny. Focus. You can do it, just do…whatever you just did a second ago." Danny scrunched his eyes tight and concentrated. A second later, he crashed into a wall.

"Oof! What the-" Danny opened his eyes, wincing. He was in his room. Danny let out a quiet cheer. "Awesome! I did it!" Quickly changing back into human form, Danny hopped back into bed. "At least I didn't have to fight Valery much. What time is it anyway? 5:30. Okay, at least I can grab another two hours of-" Danny's door slammed open. His father beamed in at him.

"Hey, Danny! Glad to see you're awake. Your mother and I know you've been feeling down and out, so we thought we'd cheer you up! And what better way than some early morning ghost hunting with your family?" Grinning from ear to ear, Jack pulled Danny up off the bed and set him on his feet. "Hurry up and get ready, we're going over to your school to set up ghost traps!" Danny groaned.

"Dad, I'm really tired, could you guys do this without me?" Jack frowned for a moment, then grinned down at his son.

"Nonsense, son! What better way to get rid of all that stress than to vaporize some ghosts?" Jack's look turned apologetic. "Besides, your mother said you should come."

Danny sighed. "Okay, fine. But give me fifteen minutes to get ready, okay?" Jack nodded, grin back in place.

"Sure thing, Danny-boy! I'll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes. Make sure to bring your school stuff. To the Fenton Ghost Assault Vehicle!" With that, Jack rushed outside and thundered downstairs.

Danny stood still for a moment, taking everything in. It had been a _very_ weird week. With a resigned shrug, the young hybrid picked up the Plasmius Maximus and set the dial to seven. "Right. That should last till lunch. I'll just have to remember to use it again then." Bracing himself against the pain, he jammed the device into his side and pulled the trigger. "Mmmmph!" Grunting in suppressed pain, Danny dropped the device in his backpack and grabbed some clothes. On his way to the shower, he ran into Jazz, already finished and on her way downstairs.

"Danny. They're making you go, too?" Jazz asked in a forced calm voice, while shooting Danny a worried look. Danny smiled back reassuringly.

"Yeah. It's fine, though Jazz. _Really_." Jazz narrowed her eyes for a moment, then relaxed.

"Good. Just be careful, okay?" With that, the older Fenton sibling walked past her brother and down the stairs to grab a quick breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, Danny joined her. Jazz walked over to him, carrying a plate of eggs on toast.

"Here." She said, thrusting the plate into his hands. "Mom and dad are waiting in the car, so eat fast. We're supposed to be at the school to set traps at six. Even the way dad drives, we're pushing it." Nodding quickly, Danny started shoveling food into his mouth as his sister went out and joined their parents in the car. With one last huge gulp, Danny dropped the plate on the table and ran outside, just managing to buckle up before Jack tore off down the street. Maddie turned around to face the two, smiling though her goggles.

"Good morning, kids! Did you remember to grab your school things?" Both siblings nodded. "Good. We're meeting Mr. Lancer outside the school in ten minutes so he can let us in. We'll be setting up these." Maddie reached behind her and pulled out something that looked like a toy foam disc shooter mounted on a mechanical arm. "Jack and I were working on these until one this morning. They just might be our best invention ever! I just wish we could have made more than twenty…" Jazz and Danny both shot her strained smiles.

"That's really…great, mom. What is it?" Maddie beamed at Jazz.

"Well, honey, they're called the 'Fenton Automatic Ghost-Suckers.' Jack and I made them by combining a lot of our old, err, less successful inventions into one really good one!" Maddie smiled winningly. "First, the old parts from the Fenton Finder pick up an ecto-signature. There are three trackers in each Ghost-Sucker, so together they can pinpoint the ghost's position exactly. Then, the Ghost-Sucker turns toward the ghost and launches out a Ghost-Gooper, melting the ghost. After that, an attachment we made from the Fenton Weasel snakes out and sucks up the goo and the Gooper, trapping the ghost and disabling it at the same time!" Maddie beamed at her two children.

Jazz pulled a big, fake grin, though she was still pale from the description. "Oh…That's great, mom. Way to make a super death weapon for ghosts!" Danny nodded, looking slightly sick.

"Yeah…That's really, um, cool and stuff. So does it hurt the ghost?" Maddie paused, surprised at the question, then beamed.

"Why, I don't really know, Danny. But if you hear one screaming, you'll know we've caught one!" Still smiling, she turned back to the front, leaving her children to think about the horrible possibilities. A short while later, the large vehicle pulled up in the bus parking lane in front of the main school doors, and the family shuffled out. Mr. Lancer smiled over at the Fentons from the front door.

"Jack. Maddie. Kids?" The teacher looked shocked for a moment, then gathered himself. "I'll just unlock the doors for you. Please feel free to take as long as you need to install the traps. You're sure these things can't hurt the students?" Mr. Lancer finished, looking slightly worried. Jack gave him a reassuring grin.

"Nonsense! The Fenton Ghost-Sucker only hurts ghosts!" Maddie cut in.

"The tracker that activates it only responds to ghosts, and the weapon it uses won't hurt students or property if it misfires. You have nothing to worry about." Lancer nodded, clearly feeling better that Mrs. Fenton said they were safe.

"Well, then, I'll leave you to your work. If you need me, I'll be in my classroom, grading papers." At this, Lancer shot Danny a condescending glance, and shuffled off into the building. Suddenly all business, Maddie turned toward her husband and started issuing orders.

"Right. We only have an hour and a half before Danny and Jazz have to leave for class, and I don't want to work with students underfoot. So, Jack, go find where you want to place the first trap. Danny, go get it out of the back of the Assault Vehicle. Jazz, help me get the tools ready at the installation site." Giving a quick mock-salute, Danny jogged off to get the Ghost-Suckers. "So Jack, where do you think we should put these?"

"One by each regular exit. And one in every hall, close to all of Danny's classes. That's where the ghost kid's always showing up." Jack's look turned thoughtful. "Maybe we should check out his classmates. One of them could be hiding something." Jazz bit her lip, debating internally, then made up her mind and turned towards Maddie.

"Mom, could I ask why you didn't just use the Fenton Thermos?" Maddie smiled.

"Of course sweetie. Since the Ghost-Sucker uses the Goopers, the captured ghosts have no form, so they can't fight their way out. The thermoses aren't meant for long-term capture. The ghosts would eventually break out." Jazz frowned. There was something important about that, something Danny had mentioned once…Shrugging, Jazz turned back around and started helping her mother.

Two hours later, Sam and Tucker walked into Mr. Lancer's room and gasped in shock at the sight of Danny already in his seat, reading The Iliad.

"Danny? Don't take this the wrong way, dude, but are you sick or something?" Danny quirked an eyebrow.

"No. Why?" Tucker smirked.

"Well, first off, you're here not only on time but _early_. Second, you're actually studying. And third, you look wrecked. I thought you were getting more sleep lately." Danny groaned, and slumped into his seat.

"I _was_ getting more sleep, at least until mom and dad decided to invite all the ghosts back into town. Klemper showed up at four this morning. I took care of him pretty quick, but then Valery showed up and attacked. Then, when I got back home, dad came barging in and dragged me and the rest of the family to school to install a bunch of new high-tech ghost traps." Sam and Tucker gasped.

"Danny, what are you going to do? You can't be here if you'll just get caught and exposed the second you go out that door!" Sam looked seriously freaked out. Danny smiled at her.

"Relax, Sam. Everything's taken care of." As he spoke, Danny discreetly pulled the lip of his backpack open, revealing the Plasmius Maximus. Sam gasped.

"Isn't that Vlad's? How'd you get it?" Danny grinned.

"Jazz snuck into his lab and snagged it. This way, I don't have to worry about tripping the new traps _or_ losing control." Tucker smiled.

"Awesome! So do you have any idea what's causing the control thing?" Danny sat back.

"Yep." The three friends looked up, and saw other students start shuffling in. "But it's a long, _private_ story. Tell you guys at lunch?" His two friends nodded, and Danny sat back to listen to Lancer drone on about Homer. At least this time, he'd be able to follow along.


	11. Plans

Salutations.

I have to admit, I am loving the review situation. Thanks to new reviewers Kuro Tori, you have an excellent sense of foreshadowing; Diamond Raider, and The Demon Inside. Also thanks to the continuous support from Acosta, Pendemus, Leah, Horselvr, Esme, Hikaru, and Epona. Finally, credit to Diamond Raider and Idiots Unite for pointing out a mistake on my part; I was spelling Valerie wrong. (Hehe…) Thanks for the heads up; the story is definitely better without that annoying little bug. : )

As a side note, I recommend the Iliad to anyone who wants to learn more about the Trojan War, despite its understandable bias and reference to an improvable quantity of divine intervention. An excellent and eerily familiar story of how two nations were brought to the brink of destruction by war for the sake of one man's pride. Overly proud men in power shouldn't be allowed to start wars, it always ends badly.

That said, I hope you continue to read, and if you feel willing, to review. I look forward to every critique, every general comment. Seriously, I eat that stuff up! Just think about it, okay? Anywho, here's chapter eleven.

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 11 – Plans

Sam and Danny sat down side by side at their regular lunch table, picking at their food and shooting each other slightly goofy smiles. Tucker had once again elected to wait and go through the line with Valerie. Slightly red, Danny turned towards his new girlfriend and grinned.

"Uh…so, I was thinking…maybe you and I could go out to um, dinner. You know, before the dance on Friday?" Sam nodded mutely for a second. Danny coughed nervously. "Um, is that a yes?" In spite of the awkward situation, Sam had to laugh.

"Yes, Danny. I'd like that. But we're going Dutch, no arguments." Danny frowned.

"You know, I'm totally behind the whole equality thing, Sam. But we've always gone out as friends before. This sorta feels like something I'm supposed to pay for." He finished, scratching his neck nervously. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Pig." She said, teasingly. Seeing the distraught look on Danny's face, she quickly continued. "That's really sweet, Danny. But really old fashioned, that's all. I'm a big girl." Sam rolled her eyes, smiling sarcastically. "Jeez, next you'll want to 'officially' give me that cheesy class ring or something." At this, Danny's face turned bright red.

"Yeah, about that ring…"

"Hey guys!" Tucker rushed over and plopped down on the table. "Valerie's gonna be sitting with us today, okay?" Sam looked ready to start yelling, but Tucker shot her a glare and continued. "I felt really bad about not letting her join us yesterday, and don't want her to feel left out. I knew you two would understand. _Right_?" Sam pursed her lips, but nodded curtly. Relaxing, Tucker leaned back and turned to Danny. "So dude, what _did_ your parents set up today?" Danny frowned.

"Just their latest super powered death machine for ghosts. Worse, the things look like they _work_. It's weird, though. I used the Maximus on myself, but those things still track me. They just don't fire." Sam paused.

"Huh. Well, here." She said, reaching into her backpack then tossing him the ecto-meter. "I kept it after you took off to see the council, and thought you'd want it back to keep checking yourself out. Even if you _can't_ tell us why it's happening." Sam shot Tucker a glare, who just shrugged. A second later, Valerie took the seat next to Tucker and smiled at the other two.

"Hi guys. Long time no see." Valerie looked as wrecked as Danny. Sam cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't know Valerie, I'm sure you've run into us more recently than that." Valerie frowned. So did Danny. "Busy night?" Valerie nodded.

"Yeah. I've got this uh…project that I've been working on for a while now. I can't really talk about it much, but it looks like it might actually help me pay for college." Sam plastered on a forced smile.

"A project, huh? Looks like it kept you up pretty late. Must be a _blast_." Tucker spat up his drink and started coughing. Valerie frowned, then put on a hesitant smile.

"I…guess you could say that. Time just kind of flew by." An object in Danny's hand that resembled a camera phone suddenly started beeping. Panic flicked across the ghost boy's face, and he turned to face the confused huntress.

"Uh…That's for me. Sorry, Val, I've gotta take this." Without another word, Danny tore across the cafeteria for the nearest restroom, and grabbed an empty stall. Panting heavily, Danny looked down at the small device with bright green eyes.

"Whew. Almost forgot the Maximus was wearing off about now. I'd - What the heck!" Glancing at the readout, Danny watched numbers start to flick across the screen. '0.2, 2.4, 5.18, 7.55, 8.1, 8.5.' Suddenly, green ripples spread outward through the room and the restroom mirror cracked, then shattered. Looking down in panic, Danny saw that the reading had settled back down at 7.34. "What was _that_?" Still really freaked out, Danny reached down into his backpack and pulled out the Maximus. Quickly, before someone came in to investigate, he jammed the device in his side and shocked himself again. "There. That solves one problem, at least." A bang filled the restroom as Mr. Lancer slammed the door open and stormed in.

"'A Million Little Pieces!' What's the meaning of this?" Not wanting to get caught at the scene, Danny turned towards the wall and ran. Unfortunately he forgot that he couldn't phase through, so he hit the wall hard and fell backwards onto the floor.

"Uughh." Hearing the crash and moan, Mr. Lancer ripped the door open and looked down at Danny's sprawled form.

"Fenton! Explain yourself!" Danny looked up from the floor, wincing and rubbing his sore face.

"Umm, it was an accident?" The older teacher's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"If you think that your parent's work for our school can get you off the hook, you're sadly mistaken. Detention. After school, every day this week. And, I'll be phoning your parents about this." Without another word, Mr. Lancer stormed back out of the restroom. Danny groaned, and started walking back to his lunch table. Sam looked up.

"So, um, how was the call?" Danny shot her a look.

"Oh, well, our other, shy friend gave me another call. Sounds like he might be in some trouble. Said we should meet up at about _seven thirty-four_." Sam's eyes narrowed in thought, then shot wide.

"What? That's – um- later than I thought. Any idea why?" Danny shook his head.

"That's not the weird part. Just before that, he tried suggesting eight fifty." Sam's face visibly paled, and she started gibbering. Valerie turned to Tucker.

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Tucker shook his head.

"I thought I did, but that eight fifty thing doesn't make sense." Valerie quirked an eyebrow at him. "Umm, another – uhh, friend – of ours from out of town has been getting into trouble lately. We're just trying to help." Valerie smiled at him.

"You're sweet, Tuck. You know? I just don't get why I wouldn't go out with you before. Sorry for being so shallow." Tucker frowned slightly.

"Yeah…well, I guess you've learned you can't judge a book by its cover." Valerie beamed at him.

"Exactly. I've learned not to just judge people. I should try to get to know them first." Sam snorted.

"Right." Valerie shot her an odd look. "I mean, uh, right! You sure have turned over a new leaf, Valerie! We're all really proud of you." Sam grinned, though her eye was ticking slightly. Val relaxed, and turned towards Danny.

"So, do you and Sam have any plans for before the dance? Tucker and I were thinking of going out for dinner first, and I was wondering if we could have a double date." Danny thought for a moment, then beamed.

"Yeah! That sounds fun, Val! What do you think, Sam?" Sam's smile now looked _very_ strained, and she answered through clenched teeth.

"Sure, Danny. That would be fun. Why not go out with Valerie and Tucker?" Danny nodded to himself and turned back to Valerie.

"Okay, how about we meet up at your apartment at five? You're closer to downtown anyway. Then we'll figure out where we're going." Tucker nodded.

"Sounds good to me. Val?" Valerie nodded, too.

Sam sat back. "Well, that's settled then. Tucker, want to walk with me and Danny to his house after school today? We can hang out for a little bit, then you can turn around and meet Valerie when she gets out." Tucker grinned and nodded.

"Sure, that sounds good." Tucker's response was cut short by the class bell. "Well, we should get going. Later guys." With that, Tucker and Valerie took off, holding hands. About five seconds later, Sam and Danny took off as well, Sam laying into Danny as much as she could.

"What are you THINKING? Dinner with the girl who's trying to kill you? I just don't get it! How can you be such a jerk?" Danny frowned.

"Sam. Valerie may hate Phantom, we both know that. She can be stubborn and violent, but underneath that she really is a good person. I wouldn't have gone out with her if she weren't." Sam sent Danny a glare. Danny caught the look and backpedaled, mentally slapping himself. "Sam, don't be like that. I like Valerie, but you…you're really special." Danny turned red. "I really like you, Sam. Please, trust me." Sam paused, and smiled.

"Okay. But you're still a jerk." Danny snorted, and the two continued down the hallway. As they passed, the Ghost-Suckers whirred to life and followed the hybrid's progress.

"Any idea why they do that? And what's with the eight fifty thing? Did you mean the reading?" Danny nodded, his face grim.

"Yeah. I know _why_ my energy's higher, but that…I don't know why _that_ happened." He sighed. "I swear, every time I get an answer, ten more questions pop up. _And_ I got detention." Sam stopped.

"Why?" Danny frowned.

"I sort of…broke the restroom mirror." Sam stared at him. "It was an accident! When the energy jumped, it all left at once, and the mirror broke. Mr. Lancer came in, and gave me detention. All week." Sam slapped her forehead.

"Great. Well, at least you can talk to Tucker and me after school before you go back in for detention." The warning bell sounded in the distance. Without another word, the couple took off for class as fast as they could.

Right after school, Sam Tucker and Danny sat down outside the school and started talking.

"Aw, man! Why'd you have to get detention, Danny? You think I _want_ to hang out by the school?" Danny shook his head.

"Right, Tucker. That was the first thing on my mind when I asked Lancer to punish me. It wasn't my fault!" The two looked ready to argue some more, but Sam cleared her throat loudly.

"Guys, focus. Danny, could you please tell Tucker and me what's up with your powers?" At this, Danny turned slightly red.

"Err, well…Jazz and I went to Clockworks to find out. He explained it. Nothing's actually wrong. My DNA is telling my ghost form to do this." Tucker raised an eyebrow.

"Your DNA is telling your ghost form to suck up energy?" Danny shook his head.

"No, it's telling my ghost form to, uh, grow." Sam and Tucker's eyes widened.

"Ohhh…that's what's going on. But what's with the tracking? Or the mirror thing?" Tucker looked over.

"What mirror thing?"

"That would be _why_ I got detention. No idea. Let's just hope that it doesn't happen again. It's weird though. I don't think that happened last time the Plasmius Maximus wore off. I mean, yeah, I was asleep, but my stuff breaking would have woken me up." Sam frowned.

"Huh. Just one more thing to figure out, I guess. Anyway, since we can't hang out after school today, I'm just gonna head home. Grandma invited some of her friends over to play cards." Her two friends gave her an odd look. "What? They're _grandma's_ friends. Way cooler than anyone my parents know." With that, Sam jogged off for home. Tucker sighed.

"I should go back in and wait for Val. You should go see Lancer. Maybe he doesn't have class, and he'll let you start detention early."

"Sure. Whatever." With one last dark look at the outside of the building, Danny walked back inside with his friend and went over to Lancer's office.

"Hello, Mr. Fenton. You're early." Danny surveyed the empty room.

"Yeah. I have last period off this year. Can I start my detention earlier?" Mr. Lancer rubbed his chin briefly, then nodded.

"I don't see any reason why not. Alright, I'd like you to sort all of my course books. You'll find them in the cupboards in the back. Sort them by author, then title." Nodding, Danny shuffled across the room and got to work.

When the dismissal bell rang, Lancer looked up from his papers and called out to his prisoner. "Fenton. You may go. Report back to my room tomorrow." Nodding, Danny trudged out and walked home alone. Opening his door, he came face to face with two very angry parents.

"What happened at school today, young man?" Maddie said seriously, glowering at her son from the front hall. Danny held up his hands quickly.

"It wasn't my fault! That mirror got broken by ghost energy, I swear! Mr. Lancer came in a second later and found me, so he gave me the blame and three detentions." Maddie put her hands on her hips.

"If it was a ghost, why didn't one of our Ghost-Suckers pick it up?" Danny froze.

"Umm…"Jack held up a hand.

"Sorry, Danny. You're not grounded, since it _could_ have been a ghost." At this he shot his wife a pleading look. "It could have." Maddie just shook her head. Jack's face went back to a serious frown. "But since it _could_ have been you, too, we're taking the money for repairs out of your savings." Danny blanched.

"But…but…I need that money to take Sam out on Friday!" Maddie and Jack both looked shocked for a second, then grinned.

"Oh, sweetie! You two finally started dating?" Maddie rushed forward and gave her son a big hug. Danny looked out, completely at a loss at the sudden mood shift, as his father beamed at him.

"I knew it! Did you give her the class ring? Remember, it's not official until you do." Danny rolled his eyes. Suddenly remembering why she'd been waiting for him in the hallway, Maddie backed up again and frowned.

"Look, Danny. We want things to work between you and Sam, but you're not off the hook for the mirror thing. So, instead of paying for it with your savings, you'll work off the debt doing extra chores today and tomorrow. Until you pay off the difference, you're grounded." Jack nodded.

"But if you find the ghost that did this, bring it to us, and we'll zap the truth out of it!" Beaming at the idea, Jack lumbered off to the basement to build a device to do just that. Smiling, Maddie gave Danny another brief hug.

"I really am happy for you sweetie. I know you're under a lot of pressure, but try not to take things out on restroom mirrors. Okay?" With that, she went off to the kitchen to once again try to make hot but dead franks in the microwave. Shrugging, Danny shuffled upstairs to his room. Stepping inside, he froze at the sight of none other than a grinning Vlad Masters.

"Well hello, Daniel. How are you? Your father has been kind enough to invite me here to help him destroy the ghost boy. I trust they told you." Danny's eyes narrowed.

"I don't know why you're here, Vlad, and I don't care. Go away." Dumping his backpack on the ground, Danny walked over to where Masters was sitting on his bed and glared at his arch-foe. Vlad put on a surprised expression.

"Why Daniel, I had no idea you felt so strongly. And here I am, supposed to board down in your room, too. Whatever shall we do about this?" Smirking, Vlad watched as Danny fought the powerful urge to hit him. Then, suddenly, Danny's face brightened.

"I'll give you all the space you want. Just stay out of my face and leave fast." Without a second look, Danny walked into his closet and entered his lair. Vlad followed and stood before the black door, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"So this is where Daniel place his second door. Well, that's one less thing to find out. On to the next phase in my plan. But, first…" Mr. Masters cracked the door open and peeked inside. A second later, he slammed it shut, slightly green.

"Not for all the cheese in Wisconsin." Shuddering, Vlad made his way over the Danny's backpack and pulled out the Maximus. With an evil smirk, the dark and powerful fruitloop switched the dial to its highest setting. "There. Phase two is complete." Mr. Masters said with wicked satisfaction, slipping his device back into the backpack. "Now to sit back and wait for things to work themselves out."


	12. Hurts

Hey everybody!

I'm glad you're still enjoying the read. Thanks to Ummari, Leah, Epona, Diamond Raider, horselvr, Queen S, and Demon Inside. Your continued support is just awesome. Also, Ummari. Thanks for the very unique well-wishing. Atra esterni ono thelduin, Ummari Elda.

This chapter moves the plot forward a little, but it's mostly about Danny finally reaching his breaking point. Fighting ghosts has gotta leave you messed up in the head. Fortunately, he has a very smart sister who cares. I think this turned out okay, but please critique. It's a bit different from my other stuff, so I honestly can't compare it to anything. It sorta…happened on its own. I don't know if I had a single thought of my own as I typed it, but SOMEONE in my head wanted this chapter, so here it is.

Later much.

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 12 – Hurts

Danny sat in his lair and brooded. He knew Vlad was up to something, but couldn't for the life of him think what it could be. Besides, with his parents' ghost detectors starting to work so well, it was beyond him why his arch-foe would risk exposing himself just to come to Amity Park. Sighing, Danny stopped his frantic thoughts and went back to taking in the space around him.

Danny had chosen a medium sized chamber off the primary path about midway between doors. So far, he had done little with the place, mostly just needing a place to vent his frustrations. Through the full-length window opposite the door, the full moon was clearly visible. Moonlight filtered in, casting the side wall in sharp relief while leaving its opposite hidden in shadow. Idly, Danny reached his hand out from his crude stone seat and started some subtle alterations. Bas Relief artwork started forming as the stone in the wall changed and shifted at his slightest command.

Hardly even thinking, the hybrid simply let the images flow directly from his mind to the wall. After an indefinite period of time, Danny opened his eyes and felt his breath catch in his throat. The half of the room cast in moonlight was covered with images of his friends, family, and schoolmates. Not every picture was happy, but all were bright, sharp, and carefully detailed. Danny had no idea that he could imagine everyone so clearly, and he was sure he couldn't draw that well on his own. At the forefront of his loved ones, Sam smiled out at him, wearing ghost-shaped earrings and a small green-stoned class ring around her neck on a chain. The half of the room cast in shadow showed ghosts. Battle scenes were crudely cut in the wall, showing scenes of violence and terror despite the lack of detail. Ecto-blasts shot from near stick-figure villains, firing every which way. Amongst all the fighting, a particularly vague shadow leered out at him, with flaming hair and forked tongue. And right between the two scenes, directly in the center of the floor, were two images of him, back to back. Only, the one on the moonlit side was in black and white hazmat with green eyes and white hair, looking lonely and ashamed; and the one on the dark side was in his street clothes, with blue eyes and black hair, and looked frightened out of his wits.

Blinking in shock, Danny raised a shaking hand to his forehead and rubbed his face. "Maybe Jazz was right. This _can't_ be a good sign of mental health. I should show this to her; maybe she can help me." Feeling lost and confused, the young ghost ran from the elaborately carved room, trying to lose himself in his creation.

How long he wandered amongst the seemingly infinite staircases, brooding over the events of the last few days, Danny couldn't say. Eventually, though, the sound of fountains drew him to the spiral hallway Sam loved so much. Danny smiled to himself as he remembered the look on her face when he made this room for her. Bolstered by the happy memory, the hybrid slowly made his way back to the human door, feeling slightly better and ready to face Vlad and his tricks. Walking downstairs, Danny found his parents Vlad and Jazz sitting at the dinner table eating pizza. Jack beamed at him.

"Danny! There you are. Vladdy here said you were really busy working on some project in your room, so we just left you alone." Danny plastered on a smile and grabbed a slice.

"Yeah, that's right. I was working on a school project. On, umm…" Vlad cut in with a smug smile.

"On the works of M.C. Escher, if I'm not mistaken. His project is quite good, really." Jazz blanched, but Danny wasn't really surprised. He shot his enemy a death glare.

"I didn't know you were _looking in_ on my work, Vlad. You could take a closer look later, if you want." Grinning, Danny watched as Vlad turned slightly green.

"Ahh, no. I don't think so. But perhaps your parents would like to see it." Tables turned, the evil dinner guest leaned back to watch Danny squirm, quietly munching on his pizza.

"Err…not yet. It's not quite finished." Danny said, looking uncomfortable. "In fact, I just added something new that I'd like you to look at, Jazz." At this, Danny shot Jazz a significant look. His sister smiled, the confusion only showing in her eyes.

"Sure, Danny. Can we head up now, mom? Danny can eat while we work." Maddie frowned.

"Well, alright. But Danny, your father and I have put together a chore list for you. You have to clean your room, the garage, and the lab. You'll be grounded until you finish everything. Okay?" Danny nodded quickly.

"Yeah, okay. Jazz and I are going to my room now. Bye!" Grabbing another slice, Danny half-dragged his sister up to his room and immediately went back into his lair. At this point, Jazz lost patience with the gripped-wrist routine and put on the brakes.

"Okay Danny. I'm not taking another step until you tell me what's going on." Her younger brother seemed surprised by the sudden tug on his arm, but then turned to his sister apologetically.

"Sorry Jazz. It's just; I came in here after I found out about Vlad. I just needed some space. But, after a while, I started fiddling with the walls, and I made something. It kinda freaked me out. I remembered your 'mental health' comment, and I didn't really pay attention at the time, but now I'm not so sure." Jazz frowned.

"What do you mean?" Danny sighed, rubbing his neck.

"Well, I made a really big drawing on the walls and floor of the room I visited, and I think it might mean something. I think maybe this whole double-life thing is starting to really mess with my head." Jazz glanced down at the look on his face, and her eyes lit up with determination.

"Show me." Her legs once again relaxed, Jazz allowed her younger brother to lead her quickly through the confusing and disturbing stonework maze until they came to a chamber directly off the path, half-filled with moonlight. Jazz gasped aloud, slowly taking it all in. Upon sight of Danny's evil future, she felt an insistent tug at the back of her mind, but she quickly shook it off to deal with the matter at hand.

"You made this?" Despite his concern, Danny half-smirked, shooting Jazz an exasperated look.

"You asked that about the stairs, too. Yes, I made this. I made all of this. The stairs, though, I made because I liked the painting, or whatever you call it. Or at least I'm pretty sure that's why I made them. But this, I just made it for no reason. And it's a little freaky." Jazz nodded slightly, still looking around the room.

"It seems to be a dichotomous pair of themes, highlighted by the motifs in the center of each wall and the floor, suggesting a subconscious attempt to remerge currently divergent archetypes into a cohesive whole by expression of individualized phobias and psychological traumas. While not a sign of psychosis, it is nevertheless incredibly revealing." Danny stared at his sister, mouth slightly open.

"Jazz says what, now?" Jazz sighed to herself.

"You're not going crazy, Danny. This painting, or whatever, is your mind trying to keep everything together. It's trying _not_ to go crazy. You've become almost like two different people since the accident, and you act differently when in each form. In psychology, that's called an archetype. It means you're creating two individual personalities, one for each form. But, underneath, you're still one whole person, so both sides of who you are have to deal with all of your experiences, not just half of them." Danny was still scratching his head, so Jazz continued.

"Look at the floor. You usually deal with ghosts and all that fear and pain as your ghost self, but here it shows human you facing them. And you always show your human self to your friends and family, but here it's Phantom. In the center of each wall is an image of Sam and evil you, and those are what your images are reacting to the most. See now?" Danny shook his head.

"No, but keep going, that makes sense. You're actually good at this." He said, half in disbelief. Jazz scowled, but then decided to take the hinted compliment, and continued.

"The human side of you is terrified of ghosts hurting people you care about, and especially of you becoming evil one day. But your ghost side is afraid that no-one will accept you for who you _really_ are, and that you'll end up alone and feared by everyone who used to love you. That's why human you is so afraid, and ghost you is so lonely. This painting is trying to help you deal with what's bothering you; it isn't a sign that you're crazy." Finally, Danny seemed to get it, and nodded soberly, still looking very upset.

"But Jazz, how is this supposed to help? I want to tell people about _all_ of who I am, but I'm not ready to tell mom and dad, and the world isn't ready to know, either. I've seen that. And of course I'm scared ghosts will destroy my friends and family. But how am I supposed to deal with that? Everyone I care about most fights ghosts all the time. Sooner or later they're going to get hurt, and I won't be able to save them. And if I lose you, I might become _that_." He said, sadly, gesturing brusquely at the indistinct darker shadow on the shadowed wall. Jazz paused, sitting down in the rough seat in the middle of the room.

"This was a way to get all those problems out in the open." Jazz said, gesturing broadly. "How long have you been holding all this in, Danny?" Her brother sighed, dropping to the floor and idly tracing his outlines, and the invisible line between his two halves.

"A long time. Since the accident, I guess. I don't think even _I_ knew about all this junk. When I fight ghosts, I put on a brave face to psyche them out and keep up a show for witnesses, but I'm scared to death the whole time. For me, and everyone else. I don't want them to get hurt, and I don't know if I can keep them safe. And I still smile and hang out with my friends, and with mom and dad, but the whole time I'm totally alone." Danny traced, the line faster, getting more and more depressed. "The only other…_creature_ like me in the whole world is evil, and my parents and one of my best friends want to kill me just for existing." Jazz bent down and rested a hand on her brother's shoulder. He was fighting very hard to keep himself under control, but he was losing fast.

"Danny. You are not a creature. You are a person, just like me. Just like mom and dad. Vlad's the creature. It's not about what you are; it's about who you are. You are a good, caring person who only wants to help people. I know mom and dad will accept you. _All_ of you." Danny looked up, miserable.

"But they _don't_ accept me. They love their _son_, but not Phantom. They can't love Phantom for _who_ he is, for who _I_ am. I keep waiting to tell the truth for when they do care about all of me, but they just don't! And like you said," Danny finished bitterly, "that's all that matters." Jazz smiled sadly down at her brother.

"They don't know who Phantom is yet, Danny. Give them time. The reward was a setback, but they'll come around, if you keep trying. I promise." Danny finally lost the internal battle and completely broke down.

"But how _can_ they love me? I'm not even human! I'm everything they hate, everything they want to destroy. Every day I wake up and wonder if they caught me, if they hate me, fear me. And they'd be _right_ to. You saw what I can do, if I want to. If I ever turned evil, I'd turn this whole world to rubble inside ten years, I'd ruin the lives of every person on earth, destroy everything in sight, and leave nothing behind but misery and darkness! What right do I have to exist at all, with that awful future ahead of me? I know I don't _have_ to become that, but I _can_! It'd be so easy. The last time it happened, it all started just with me cheating on one test. And who would save me then? You couldn't stop me, no one could. I'm too strong, Jazz. It's not a boast, not some stupid macho thing. I'm _really, really _strong. The only thing standing between me and that terrible future _is_ me, and how do you stop _yourself_?" Rant finished, Danny fell to the floor as if axed and sobbed.

Jazz just sat there for a moment in shock. Danny had been holding all of this in for months. It was a wonder he was still sane at all! And he had raised some real questions. How did someone that powerful live with himself? Knowing that he had to watch himself, every second of every day, guarding against even the slightest slip, lest he lose all trace of humanity and destroy everyone he loved. Finally, the young girl stood up and went over to her brother, gently touching his back, offering whatever comfort she could.

"Danny. Everything's okay. This is something you needed to talk about, and I promise I'm still here. You're always telling me about your hopes; didn't you know you had to talk about your fears, too?" Jazz sat there with her brother for countless minutes as he sobbed himself out, not offering any words, just quiet comfort. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Danny settled down and sat up. He offered his sister a sad smile.

"I know this is gonna sound corny, or whatever. But, please promise not to say anything to Sam and Tucker. I really care about them, but this is kind of a private thing." Jazz just smiled at him.

"Of course." Danny stood up, smiling at his sister through a red, slightly embarrassed face.

"You're the only family I have that cares about all of who I am. Thank you for accepting me. I love you, Jazz." Momentarily taken aback by the quiet intensity behind those words, Jazz smiled back at her brother.

"I love you, too, Danny. And I'll always be here for you. Just please try to talk about this stuff more often. I'll listen. Don't let it bottle up like that." Danny nodded quietly. "And I think you could probably confide in Sam too, when you feel comfortable. She really cares about you, and I know you care about her, too. She'd want to help." At this, Danny only shrugged, looking awkward.

"I'll…think about it." Danny finished pulling himself together, and shot Jazz an apologetic look. "But before we leave, we need to wait here a sec." Jazz cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because," Danny answered, "The Plasmius Maximus should be wearing off about now." Right on cue, the ecto-meter in his pocket went off again. A moment later, a flash of green energy rippled out from his body, bouncing off the stone walls but causing no damage. Jazz was blown back about two feet, but managed to catch her balance. Danny frowned.

"Okay, so it looks like that happens every time that thing wears off. But why?" Jazz thought a moment, then spoke up.

"Well, Clockwork said your ectoplasm was pulling in energy right?" Danny nodded. "So, maybe the Maximus works by preventing ectoplasm from _releasing_ energy. So if you use it long enough, you build up a charge. That would explain the sudden release when it wears off." Danny nodded more vigorously.

"That would also explain why the ghost traps still follow me at school, even if they don't fire. They're picking up the charge, but they still aren't detecting a _ghost_, so they don't fire." Danny sighed in relief. "Finally, we're getting some answers. This has been a seriously messed up week." Nodding tiredly in agreement, Jazz took her brother's hand and gestured toward the archway. With a smirk, Danny pulled her along yet again, back to the human door. Once inside his bedroom, Danny turned back to his sister.

"Okay, just another quick dose to keep me from tipping off mom and dad tonight. Then, I'll hit it again in the morning." Agreeing, Jazz hurried over to his backpack and gave him a quick dose. Placing it back, Jazz froze suddenly, noticing a small dial on the side.

"Umm, Danny? What setting did you have this on?" She asked with a forced calm. Danny looked over at his sister, frowning.

"Seven. Why?" Jazz gulped.

"Because, this is _not_ set at seven." Eyes narrowed, Danny rushed over and looked.

"Okay, eight. So? It just lasts one more hour." Jazz shook her head slowly, looking horrified.

"No Danny, _that's_ eight." She said, pointing to the correctly oriented number. "_This_," she continued, "is the symbol for infinity! That means forever!" Danny stopped, and stared at her with wide eyes.

"I didn't know that. But I swear, I had it set on seven!" Suddenly, it clicked, and the two siblings looked at each other, wide-eyed.

"Vlad…"


	13. Plots

Hellos and Salutations!

Blessing upon you, readers and reviewers. Thank you Diamond Raider, Epona, fan-girls2.0, Queen S, Idiots Unite, and Id Pendemus for the reviews. I'm glad you didn't hate chapter 12, and am even gladder that you seemed to like it. To everyone, I'm still listening, and I hope to hear your opinions.

Also, I found something in the most recent story of Esme Phantom, "The Comedy of Errors," that left me completely tickled. Annoying Paulina in Phantomwear. Psychic connection, inspired addition, or completely original thought, who knows? I don't. But it was in there, and I was absolutely floored. Awesome! In tribute (even if I had nothing to do with it, I still really enjoyed reading it) I changed Mr. Lancer's creative expletive at the end to a different book. Love your story, Esme. Hope you like my subtle shout out to your genius. (If you don't, please yell at me, and I'll fix it immediately.)

This is probably my last update till Monday, since FanFiction is swapping locations and will be down tomorrow. I'll check my position about noon tomorrow, and update if necessary. Otherwise, I probably won't, so don't yell at me, please. I promised to finish, even if everyone reading suddenly decides it sucks.

Bye!

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 13 – Plots

Shaking with fury, Danny marched downstairs, Jazz gripping his shoulder in a half-hearted attempt to restrain him. Sharply turning the downstairs corner, the two found Vlad sitting alone in a reclining chair, looking at an old photo album. Hearing the two approach, Masters looked up from his book, a smug look on his face.

"Daniel. And Jasmine. Hello. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Furious, Danny lunged towards his arch-foe, Jazz's grip on his back wrist the only thing keeping her brother from punching him across the face.

"Why? What possible reason do you have to permanently shut down my powers? You've _always_ tried to make me your stupid little apprentice, but how does that work if I'm powerless?" Vlad flashed a Cheshire cat grin, clearly very pleased with himself.

"Things have a way of working out, Daniel. As it happens, I have a device with me that neutralizes the effect of the Plasmius Maximus. But before you even _think_ of stealing that too," Vlad said, grinning at the hopeful look on Danny's face, "_this_ device is password locked, and one incorrect entry will cause it to self-destruct." Danny's face fell, and his eyes narrowed in frustration.

"What do you want?" Vlad returned to his book, a small smile still on his lips.

"So many memories. I remember when Maddie and I first met, back in college. I was friends with Jack first, you know. I actually introduced them to each other." Vlad's smile turned bitter, and he looked back up at the teens. "I want what I always want, Daniel. But you being declared owner of Amity complicates matters. As long as you hold sway here, Maddie is out of my reach, along with the rest of your family and friends. Suddenly, you hold all the cards. And I can't have that." Grinning, Vlad continued.

"You only have two choices. If you hand Amity Park over to me, I'll restore your powers. You can even continue that ridiculous hero routine if you want; far away, of course. I'm not about to let you stay in _my_ haunt, after all. In time, you may wish to return, under my authority. If you refuse, I'll keep your powers sealed away. In a year's time, I can simply take Amity from you, and you'll still be powerless. The choice, Daniel, is entirely yours." Smirking, Vlad watched as Danny's face clouded.

"I'll tell you what, dear boy. You sleep on it, and give me your answer in the morning. I'm sure you'll make the right choice." Danny frowned, anger burning in his eyes.

"Forget it, Vlad. I don't care if I _am_ powerless, there's no way I'll let you hurt my family, _or_ this town. Even if you can take Amity Park from me in a year, I'll never join you, and mom will never love you." Vlad grimaced, and flashed Danny a furious but determined glare.

"Well, we'll just see about that, won't we?" With that, Vlad marched outside in a rage. Smiling sadly, Danny turned to his sister.

"Okay, new problem. Somehow I have to get rid of all the invading ghosts and Vlad without my powers. While I work on that, you Sam and Tucker need to figure out how to get Vlad's other device to work." Jazz frowned.

"But Danny, you've always used your powers to fight ghosts. Don't you think you'll need our help?" Her brother shook his head quickly.

"I'd like you to help, but if I want to get rid of these ghosts for good, _I_ have to be the one to defeat them and kick them out. You three will just have to try and get my powers working again." The two both wanted to keep talking, but it was getting really late. Clearly unhappy with the situation, both kids went upstairs and went to bed.

Out on the front step, Vlad looked out into the night with a faint smile on his face. His ghost sense suddenly going off, the older half-ghost turned to face a large mechanical spirit. "It's about time, Skulker. Are you ready to set the next phase of my plan into motion?" The other ghost frowned.

"So the whelp refused then?" Masters nodded.

"I expected he would. Daniel has always been stubborn. Still, he has such potential. I had to make the offer before I did anything drastic." At this, the robotic hunter simply shrugged.

"I still don't see why we cannot simply capture him and take him back to your lair." Masters smiled.

"No, you wouldn't understand would you? Daniel will not change his mind if we simply capture him. But this town is already out for his blood. To turn him, we need only whip them into a frenzy. Daniel will eventually realize that there is no place for him among humans." Masters turned towards Skulker, a serious frown on his face. "You know what to do." Skulker nodded, and flew off. Masters sat back once again on the front steps of the Fenton home and looked out at the sprawling city. "Excellent."

Daylight dawned in the Fenton home, throwing light into Danny's face. Pulling the covers up over his face, the now powerless ghost curled up tight, fighting to stay asleep.

"Hey, now, little badger. Up and Adam. The early bird gets the worm, and all that." Groaning, Danny uncurled and opened his eyes to find Vlad's face inches from his own, leering down at him.

"Yah!" Jumping in shock, Danny fell off the far side of the bed, hitting the floor hard. "Perfect. The one day I didn't have to worry about floating around, and I _still_ hit the floor." Danny mumbled to himself darkly. Out loud, "Jeez Vlad. It's bad enough you're sharing my room, how about letting me wake up to a better view?" Vlad pulled a wounded face.

"Oh dear. Terribly sorry my boy, I didn't realize. I merely wished to make sure you woke up in time for school." Danny's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"That's what my alarm clock's for." Vlad smirked, but immediately hid his smile behind an innocent expression.

"Yes, that. I always hated that annoying buzzing sound, so I unplugged it." Danny shot out of bed, frantically searching for his clock.

"What?" A trace of Vlad's grin slipped through.

"No need to worry Daniel, it's only seven fifty. Plenty of time." The young hybrid paled visibly, rushing to the closet and grabbing clean clothes.

"Seven fifty! School starts in ten minutes, how am I supposed to get there on time?" Leaning back, Vlad stretched.

"Oh my, yes, you'll really have to fly, won't you?" Grinning, Vlad watched impotent fury shoot across Danny's face.

"Why you-"

"Danny!" Jazz walked in. "I, um, know you usually have trouble in the morning, so I stayed late to make sure you had a ride." Eyes narrowed, Danny glared at Vlad as he answered.

"Sure. Let's go. And Vlad?" Masters raised his eyebrows. "Feel free to check out my lair while I'm at school. I'm sure you'll enjoy it just as much as Technus did." With a grim smile, Danny walked with his sister down the steps and outside.

Once in the car, Jazz turned to her fuming younger brother. "Vlad turned off your alarm?"

"Vlad turned off my alarm. I swear he's got something else up his sleeve. Sure, he offered me a choice yesterday, but it can't be that simple." Danny pounded the dash with his fists. "What is he up to!" Jazz frowned in thought as she drove off quickly towards the school.

"I don't know, Danny. But Vlad did say one true thing last night." At her brother's look, Jazz smiled grimly. "He's always after the same thing. He wants mom to love him, and he wants you to look up to him. We may not know what he's planning, but there are only so many ways he could get what he wants. It's not like he'll do just _anything_." Danny nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah…Look, I'm going to talk to Sam and Tucker at lunch today and fill them in. I can't go ghost hunting until the weekend, though. I have to do those chores today, and then I have a double date tomorrow." Grinning, Jazz turned to Danny with a playful smirk.

"I'd heard a rumor you two were going out. I just didn't want to ask in case it wasn't true. You two are just so touchy about it! So you _are_ going out with Sam?" Danny nodded, blushing. "Great! She really is a wonderful person, Danny. And you two really have a connection. I hope everything goes okay." Jazz cocked an eyebrow. "Since you said double-date, I'm assuming Tucker's dating someone too. Who?" Danny smiled back.

"Valerie." Jazz's eyes bugged out.

"What! But how are you two going to talk about ghost stuff with her around? She wants to kill you!" Danny nodded.

"Well, we kinda used code yesterday. I don't think that'll work again, though. Valerie was really suspicious. I'll just ask Tucker if he can ask her to sit somewhere else today. This is kind of important." Jazz pursed her lips, eyes locked on the school building ahead.

"I'm sure you'll work things out somehow. Anyway, we should get to class. We're both late already, but I'll talk to the secretary and see if she can get us excused." Jazz pulled into the student lot, and the Fentons ran into the school to go to class. Outside, Skulker watched through his binoculars.

"Soon, ghost child. Soon."

Danny walked into Lancer's classroom mid-lecture. The older teacher frowned at him over his book.

"Ah, mister Fenton. So good of you to join us today. I assume you have an excuse?" Danny quickly took his seat, noting with irritation that Lancer did not say _reason_.

"Jazz is in the office now sorting it out." Lancer returned his eyes to his book and resumed pacing at the front of the class.

"Yes, well, see to it that you don't make a habit of this. Clean slate, remember?" Still frowning slightly, Lancer began starting a lecture on the justification of Agamemnon's declaration of war. In the back, a note fluttered onto Danny's desk.

'_Hey Danny. What's up?_' Danny looked back at Sam, and casually flicked a note over.

'_Sam. Vlad's in town. Up to something. I have more info about yesterday.'_

'_What about Valerie?'_ Danny groaned inside, and passed another note.

'_We have a lot to talk about. Can you and Tucker sit with me alone?'_ Sam quickly read the note, then passed it to Tucker. A minute later, he sent a note to Danny.

'_No way, man. Things are just starting to work. I'll eat with her alone today, you can fill me in after school.'_

Danny gave his friend a discreet nod, and turned his attention back to an oblivious Lancer.

At noon, Danny and Sam once again found themselves at their usual table. This time, though, there would be no Tucker. Sam cleared her throat, and turned to her boyfriend.

"So…What's going on?" Danny turned to her, and started explaining.

"Alright, so first off, I'm pretty sure that the thing yesterday in the bathroom was from the Plasmius Maximus. Jazz and I talked about it, and we think that it stops ectoplasm from releasing any energy. But since _my_ ectoplasm is acting all weird right now and sucking energy up all the time, I keep building up a charge. It goes away after the Maximus wears off, though. I don't think Vlad knows about that." Sam frowned.

"Speaking of Vlad, what's he doing here?" Danny groaned, looking down at his tray.

"What is he always doing here? He came to steal me and my mom. And he managed to permanently shut down my powers." Sam gasped.

"What? How?"

"The last setting on the Maximus is permanent. Vlad switched it when I wasn't looking. But that's not the worst part. I still have to get rid of all the ghosts, but now I don't have my powers." Sam sat back, eyes wide.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Danny looked up. "That's where you Tucker and Jazz come in. I'll be busy with extra chores, the date tomorrow, and ghost hunting with no powers. I need you three to figure out how to get my powers back." At the confused look on Sam's face, Danny hurried to explain. "Vlad has another device that cancels out the Maximus. But its password protected, and you only get one try, believe me. I need you guys to either figure out how to break into that one, or how to create another one so that we can get my powers back." Sam nodded, then seemed to hesitate, clearly nervous.

"You know, Danny. If you need more time and stuff, we could always cancel the date." Danny flinched, but recovered quickly.

"No way, Sam. This is our first real date; I'm not letting anything ruin it. Besides, even if we did, Valerie would be suspicious. I think she'll be hanging out a lot more, so we'll have to play normal." Danny grinned. "At least until she stops trying to kill me." Both teens laughed at that. Sam gasped out over her chuckles.

"H-how, is that, ha ha, funny?" Danny just shook his head.

"No idea, but it is! My best friend's girlfriend wants to kill me, and my dad's best friend wants to kill him." Danny let out a chuckle. "Maybe friendship's overrated." Sam smiled, and put on a fake pout.

"You think so?" Danny smirked, then reached over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Nah. Totally worth it." Both teens sat back for a moment, still feeling a little awkward, despite their official couple status. "So, um, do you still have that class ring?" Danny asked, nervously.

"Yeah…why?" Sam's mouth turned down as she pulled off the chain she wore around her neck, palming the ring. "Are you officially giving it to me now? Maybe you should check with Wes first." Danny's eyebrows knitted together.

"Who?" Sighing, Sam pointed out the name engraved on the inside of the ring.

"Wes. Whoever _she_ is…" For some reason, Danny keeled over laughing. Sam's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What is so funny?" Danny sat up strait, wiping tears from his eyes.

"This." Reaching out, he deftly picked up the ring and flipped it over. Sam stared at the inscription. _'Sam.'_ Danny chucked nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"My dad had it engraved a year ago. I guess he saw this coming." Slightly red, Danny shut Sam's hand over the ring. "It's always sort of been for you." Sam looked up from her closed hand with relief and wonder shining in her eyes. Quickly snapping out of the sappy mood, she fastened on a typical sarcastic smirk.

"Thanks, Danny. That's really sweet, even if it is really cheesy." Grinning, she quickly returned the kiss.

Before he could think about it too much, Danny quickly reached up and redirected her lips onto his. Sam's eyes widened for a moment in shock, but she was quickly swept up in the experience. Several students in the cafeteria stopped eating to watch the moment, Tucker grinning more than anyone. Head filled with jokes, the techno-geek moved to get up and cross the room. But before he could, a hand reached up and pulled him down by the collar. Valerie looked into his eyes and winked, smirking a silent suggestion. After a _very_ brief internal debate, Tucker sat back down and stayed where he was.

"I'll tease them after school…"

At the end of the day, Tucker greeted Danny and Sam outside the building, a dopey grin plastered across his face. Catching sight of the expression, Danny and Sam broke into identical evil smirks, and the pair ambled over to get some well-earned revenge.

"So Tucker, how was lunch?" Danny grinned. Sam gently pushed him aside, determined to make the next cut.

"Yeah. I'll bet Valerie tasted _great_." Tucker immediately turned a deep shade of red. But embarrassment quickly gave way to vengeance, and the couple internally braced themselves.

"Oh? What about you two? Hah, so many memories. I remember introducing you two to each other. And look at you now. Hey Sam, I thought it was against your principles to eat tongue." Sam quickly rolled her eyes, and tried to cool her face off.

"Okay, Tucker. We got you, you got us; we're even. Let's move on, shall we?" With a sigh at all the lost jokes, Tucker nodded.

"So what's up with your powers _now_?" Danny paused to collect his thoughts, and stepped into the conversation yet again.

"Short version. Maximus permanently shut down my ghost powers. I'm building up a charge of ecto-energy that I _can't_ get rid of, and Vlad is trying to ruin my life again." Tucker looked ready to interrupt, but Danny quickly raised his hand. "Sorry Tuck, but you chose not to sit with us today. Sam can fill you in. I need to get back inside and do a short detention so I can go home and do a ton of extra chores _without powers_." Grumbling about the fairness of life in general, Danny trudged back inside and walked into Lancer's room. The older teacher looked up and gave his student an even glance.

"Same as yesterday, mister Fenton. You may pick up wherever you left off." Danny was just getting ready to do so, when a large explosion shook the room. Danny's head jerked up, looking around frantically for signs of a ghost attack. Lancer rushed across the room and grabbed his young charge by the shoulder.

"'The Spirit Within!' Hurry Fenton, we have to get to safety!" With that, the older man half-dragged Danny outside and onto the lot. The two turned around and saw a large metallic ghost launching rockets at the school and shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Consider this a message from Phantom. Back off and leave the ghost child alone!" With that, the ghost continued his barrage, above the heads of a terrified teacher and a very confused kid.


	14. Crimes

Hello!

Shockingly, there are only two or three chapters left to go! I know, it seems like a really short end to a really long setup, but everything is coming to a head, so there you go.

My love and appreciation to all reviewers. Special hello to newcomers Tornada Silverwind and Kantix Gabriel. Thank you both very much. For reviewing chapter 13, thanks to Epona Harper, Demon Inside, Queen S, Meagainsttheworld, fan-girls2.0, Horselver4evr123, Idiots Unite, Id Pendemus, and the thankfully flattered Esme. (Yay, I didn't get yelled at)

To explain, we both used the word Phantomwear for the same clothing, and had the same annoying person displayed wearing it. Apparently it was a huge cosmic coincidence, but is nonetheless really cool. Because I was so pleasantly shocked at this, I changed Lancer's recent book name to "The Spirit Within," a real book that I do not own the rights to. Anyone interested should check out Esme's Spirit Series, it's very very good.

This chapter's a little on the short side, but it got cut where it makes the most sense. I'll see you all on Monday.

Cheers!

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 14 – Crimes

"What the heck is going on? Why would Skulker try to help me?" Danny asked frustratedly, sitting in the passenger's seat of Jazz's car. The large mechanical ghost had terrorized the school for nearly half an hour before Jack and Maddie showed up, guns blazing. Despite the best efforts of the ghost hunting couple, Skulker escaped unharmed, and was still at large.

In the back seat, Tucker shrugged. "I don't know man, but if he is trying to help, he's not doing a very good job. Half of Amity Park thinks _you're_ behind the attack." Sam nodded from the seat beside him.

"Tucker's right, Danny. Skulker may have been shouting that he was helping you, but he didn't do you any favors." In the front seat, Jazz slapped her forehead.

"Danny?" Her brother turned to face her. "Maybe he _wants_ people to think it's you. But he couldn't be behind this. Skulker hates you, but he's not exactly a high-watt bulb. He wouldn't be _smart_ enough to come up with a plan like this." Jazz shot Danny a pointed look. Danny leaned back and groaned in response.

"Vlad. But that still doesn't explain _what_ he's up to. Why make people think I'm behind a lot of crimes? There's already a bounty on my head, and with my powers shut down, no one will catch me anyway. It doesn't make any sense." The young, powerless ghost looked back and forth between his friends and allies, but only received blank stares in reply. A moment later, Jazz pulled up at Sam's house. Both passengers stepped out, Tucker electing to walk home from there. Taking off again, she turned towards her confused brother with a worried smile.

"Don't worry, Danny. Like you said, the ghost hunters can't find you right now. Even though this doesn't make sense, Vlad must have a reason, and I'm sure we'll figure it out and stop him." Danny nodded silently. The two continued this way until Jazz pulled up outside Fenton Works. The two barely got out of the car when they were grabbed by their parents and dragged into the Fenton RV.

"Sorry, kids! This is a ghost emergency! Inviso-Bill and his evil ghostly minions are attacking the city!" Jack revved the engine and tore off down the street as Maddie turned around to look at her two shocked children.

"Danny. If you help out today, you're excused from our chores deal. Jazz, I know you're not grounded right now, but we really need your help. Inviso-Bill has gone mad, he's destroying everything!" At this, both of the younger Fentons' expressions shifted from shocked to indignant. Danny shot his mom a look.

"Mom, who says _Phantom_ is behind this at all?" Maddie pursed her lips.

"Well, that large robot ghost said he was with Inviso-Bill, and he attacked the school. By the time we got there, he had already escaped. He's downtown right now, attacking buildings and people." Danny frowned.

"So you think _Phantom_ is behind this because some ghost said so." Maddie frowned back.

"I don't see why he would lie." Now Danny positively scowled.

"So you'll take some other ghost's word for it that _Phantom_ is evil, but you won't take _Phantom's _own word that he's good!" Maddie held up her hand, looking surprised and angry.

"Danny, I know how you and Jazz feel about Inviso-Bill, but-"

"PHANTOM! His NAME is _PHANTOM_, not INVISO-BILL!" Mrs. Fenton froze in shock at Danny's outburst. So did Danny. Jazz reached a hand over and grabbed his arm, glaring at her mother.

"Mom, that's right. You _do_ know how Danny and I feel about Phantom. I think he's good. Danny thinks he's good. Phantom says he's good. And he saved the whole town from being sucked into the Ghost Zone. He saved _our family_ from being blown up, when he flew dad home in time to fight off the Wisconsin Ghost. How can you just assume he's evil because some other ghost says so? That's totally unfair!" Maddie paused, and looked down, confused and worried.

"I don't know, Jazz. I just don't know. It's so much easier to think he's evil. Your father and I have never, in all our years of study, found a single ghost that was both active and good. It doesn't make any sense. And Jazz, regardless of his nature, Inviso-, err, Phantom is powerful and dangerous. Until we know for sure, we can't afford to trust him. We'd be putting you two and the entire town in danger." Jack nodded from the driver's seat.

"Your mother's right, kids. Ghosts are evil. That's why we hunt them. Now let's go kick some ghost butt!" Flooring it once again, Jack sped to the smoking ruin that was Amity Park mall, his confused and depressed family in tow. Pulling up, they found Skulker already engaged in combat with a flying red warrior. Both fighters seemed to be using every complex weapon in their arsenals. After a brief stare, Jack pulled himself together and passed out ecto-guns.

"Alright kids. Today your mother and I are making an exception. This ghost is way too dangerous not to use these. Let's move!" All four Fentons rushed out of the RV and trained their weapons on the metallic ghost. Seeing the new threat, Skulker launched a small volley of rockets and turned back to the red huntress.

"Here's a message from the ghost child! Stop hunting ghosts!" Danny scowled.

"Oh he is _so_ going down." Pulling up the scope, Danny took aim and fired a powerful ecto-blast directly at Skulker's thrusters. The ghost managed to dodge, but his maneuver exposed him to a vital hit from Valerie. The red huntress shot Danny an appreciative look.

"Thanks, kid! You've got great aim!" Grinning slightly at the irony, Danny called back.

"You're not a bad shot yourself!" Jazz smacked herself on the face, and went back to tracking the enemy ghost through her own scope. Valerie called back after a daring feint.

"Sorry, cutie, but I'm taken!" She did seem a little sorry, but very happy. Danny broke into a big smile.

"Good for you, Red!" Witty banter complete, Danny returned to the attack. Jack fired off a devastating round, taking out a chunk of Skulker's ecto-skeleton. Maddie took four precise shots that scored direct hits to both eyes and both thrusters. Jazz and Danny shot left and right, taking out oncoming missiles on the fly. While the Fentons attacked below, Valerie launched into an aerial attack, further damaging the battle suit with her ecto-discs and disabling several of Skulker's weapons. Finally, before someone else had a chance, Danny quickly whipped out a Fenton Thermos and sucked him up. Jack turned and beamed at his family. Valerie was already flying away.

"Way to go! Now if only Inviso-Bill was here!" Angry all over again, Danny was about to start shouting, but suddenly a fleet of large blimps flew down over the city, each covered with a large TV screen. Everywhere in the city, televisions blinked out, and every single unit on the ground and in the sky flickered to a closed set where a blue ghost in a white suit sat calmly on a comfortable looking chair.

"Hello, citizens of Amity Park. Please do not be alarmed, I am a friend. I know you probably find this hard to believe; that a ghost could be a friend, but I truly am here to help you." After a dramatic pause, he continued. The Fentons watched in shock. "While normally a denizen of the Ghost Zone, the recent crimes and atrocities of the ghost you call _Inviso-Bill_, "the ghost spoke the last slowly and with a great deal of amusement, "has obligated me to take action. I am here to save your fair city, and destroy the ghost child once and for all. To that end, I issue a formal challenge to him: Fight me, hand to hand, at the empty warehouse district by the docks, tomorrow at five o'clock. For the safety of all of Amity Park, I have set up a barrier around the area that will repel both humans and ghosts. I will take it down to let you in, but I refuse to let your wickedness cause harm to innocent spectators. That is all." Hardly a second later, the blimps flew off and the city's televisions returned to normal. Eyes wide with shock, Danny fell backwards to the ground, staring blankly into space. Jack frowned.

"That was the Wisconsin Ghost, I know it. He tried to destroy our family. Isn't he evil?" Maddie nodded her head thoughtfully.

"Yes, dear. I just don't understand. If he's evil, why fight Phantom? This makes no sense at all."

"Got that right." Danny said dully from the ground. Quickly returning to business, Maddie stood up and started back towards the RV.

"Alright, we'll worry about that later. Danny, Jazz, you have school and the dance tomorrow. Jack and I will deal with the ghosts. Let's go." The Fentons all trudged back into the RV and drove home, feeling shocked and confused.

Immediately upon entering the house, the family came face to face with a smiling Vlad Masters.

"Oh dear, I'm so glad you're alright. I was out all day on business, and when I came back, you'd already taken off to fight that horrible ghost. Did you catch Inviso-Bill?" Danny glared at his foe as Maddie slowly answered.

"No. But that isn't the strange part. Another ghost is back in town, promising to protect us." Vlad grinned.

"Why, what good news! Perhaps this new ghost – whoever it is – can save the town from the ghost boy." Jack frowned.

"I don't think so, V-man. It was the Wisconsin Ghost. That one's bad news, I know it!" Vlad's smile faltered for a moment then came back, looking slightly plastered on.

"Well, I'm sure you must have some history to say that, Jack, but if he's here to save the city, perhaps we should let bygones be bygones?" Still frowning, Jack nodded slowly.

"I guess. But I still don't trust him. Or the ghost kid." Without another word, Jack marched off to the lab to work on some new projects and think. Maddie quietly joined him. Once out of sight and earshot, Danny sent Vlad a death glare.

"What are you doing, Vlad?" Vlad smirked.

"You know, the 'scary eyes' leave something to be desired without the green, my boy. I meant what I said. I'm here to defeat you and make sure you never trouble this town again." Danny's eyes narrowed.

"What does that have to do with taking Amity Park from me?" Vlad grinned.

"When I have a haunt, I do as I please inside it. By the time I'm through, the whole city will see me as the victorious hero and you as the defeated villain. And poor Maddie. After the disappearance of her only son, followed by the tragic untimely death of her husband, she will need someone to comfort and care for her. Of course as an old friend, I'll simply have to move my estate to Amity Park, to be with her in her time of need." Danny stared for a second, but quickly shook off his shock.

"I'll never let you win, Vlad." His foe didn't miss a beat.

"You're welcome to try and stop me tomorrow at five. Of course, without your powers, I don't think you'll stand much of a chance. Do you?" Vlad, smile turned vindictive. "I really had trouble setting the time. I hope I didn't interrupt anything important." Danny's face fell, realization dawning.

"My date…" Vlad smirked.

"Oh so you did have another engagement. Well, if you decide that it's more important, feel free to stay away. I can always capture you elsewhere and claim I beat 'Inviso-Bill' at the docks." With that, Vlad walked out of the house, whistling to himself.

"Danny?" Jazz's small voice penetrated the stillness of the hallway. "What are you going to do?" Danny shook his head.

"I don't know, Jazz." He said, determination and anger firing in his eyes. "But with or without my powers, I'm going to the docks tomorrow. Vlad won't get away with this!" Without another word, Danny marched upstairs to get some sleep. Shaking her head, Jazz followed her brave, doomed little brother.

It was going to be a long night.


	15. Clashes

Hello and Greetings.

This one's a little longer, but there's just one chapter left. Hope everything is good. Special thanks to all reviewers. Since I'm probably posting the ending later today, I'll hold off on the list now and give EVERYBODY a big thank you before the next chapter.

Finally, I actually added lines on this one. Too many scene transitions not to. :D

Bye!

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 15 – Clashes

Danny was shaken awake the next day by his sister. Grumbling something about early birds and fruit loops, Danny rubbed his eyes and sat up. A pleasantly surprised smile at his sister's face immediately fell away when the events of the previous day came back to him. Jazz started walking back to the hallway.

"I thought I should wake you, in case Vlad shut off your alarm again." Danny nodded, and looked around.

"Where is he, anyway?" Jazz paused in the doorway and scowled.

"He left hours ago, 'on business.'" She said, sarcastically using finger quotes. "In other words, he's at the docks setting things up for tonight." Face once again filling with worry, she turned and surveyed her brother. "Do you have a plan? Sam called this morning, and she and Tucker can't think of anything. Neither can I." Jazz admitted bitterly, slumping against the door frame in frustration. "He just moved too fast. He didn't give us any time to fix the problems he caused. I don't…" Jazz sighed. "I don't know what to do, Danny." Her brother looked up at her soberly.

"Neither do I, Jazz. Vlad has me good. But I've got to try and stop him. If I don't, I'll be captured and imprisoned and who knows what else. And he'll kill dad, and probably blame it on me somehow. He'll win, Jazz. I can't let that happen. I'll just come home after school, grab some weapons and hope for the best." Jazz just nodded sadly and wandered downstairs. A moment later, Danny got up and got ready for what could be his last day of school.

Half an hour later, the two siblings were once again riding to school in Jazz's car. Looking over at her glum brother, she started making small talk, hoping to cheer him up.

"Well, at least one good thing came out of this." Her brother looked at her questioningly. "We got to spend more time together. You usually don't talk to me this much at home, and we never ride to school together." Danny shrugged, looking uncomfortable but pleased.

"I prefer flying. I really like the way it feels. And I know I shut you out a lot Jazz, it's just I don't want you to worry so much. Yeah, you can be nagging, and judgmental, and annoying, and meddling…" Jazz looked over at him.

"You know, you can stop at any time, Danny." He grinned over at her.

"I know." Seeing her face fall slightly, Danny hurried to continue. "But no matter what, you really matter to me, Jazz. You're my sister. You help me deal with this ghost stuff in a way Tucker and Sam can't. I know you really care about me, and it means a lot." Sitting back with mild looks of contentment, the siblings passed the rest of the trip in silence.

Danny wasn't surprised when he reached his locker only to find Sam and Tucker already there waiting for him. They both had encouraging smiles, but that didn't fool him for a second.

"Hey guys. I guess you know, huh?" Sam scowled for a moment.

"How could we not know? It was only on every TV in town. My parents are huge fans of the 'mysterious blue ghost.'" Sam said, clearly annoyed. Tucker chuckled.

"My parents didn't believe him. They said he's probably in league with 'Inviso-Bill.'" Sam looked at Tucker.

"How exactly is _that_ funny, Tucker?" In response, the techno-geek merely shrugged.

"I guess it's because there's no way it could ever really happen. What did your parents think, Danny?" Tucker asked casually, but Danny had an idea that they'd planned on asking all along.

"Mom and Dad have fought Vlad before. They don't trust him. But they still don't trust me, either." Frowning slightly, Danny decided to go ahead and answer the next obvious question. "And yes, guys, I'm going to the docks. I don't care if I don't stand a chance; I've still got to do this. Otherwise, he wins." His two friends just nodded, though neither of them looked happy about it.

"Here, man." Danny quickly fielded a tossed object from Tucker.

"The Fenton Lipstick? Tucker, I-" Hid friend held up his hand.

"Look, Dude. We all know that there's no way Sam and I can get close enough to that dome to back you up. So take it. We'll be with you in spirit, man." Nodding silently, Danny pocketed the small weapon. Sam looked ready to argue against him going when a large hand grabbed Danny by the front of his collar and forced him up against his locker. Dash Baxter leered at him from the other end of the violent grip.

"Hey, Fen-Ton. Haven't checked up on you for a while, so I decided to drop by." Dash's sneering face locked onto Danny's. Instead of the usual fear, though, his expression suggested he was having a serious internal debate about something. Finally, with a shrug, Danny met Dash's eyes, cocked his fist, and punched him in the face. Dash fell backwards in pain, dropping Danny to the floor to grab his nose.

"Ow, my nose!" Dash said, sounding odd as blood dripped through his fingers. "You're dead, Fenton!" Dash raised both fists and Danny dropped into a fighting stance. A small circle of early students started to gather, but this of course attracted a teacher's attention.

"Fenton! Baxter! What's going on here!" Mr. Lancer shouted from the edge of the student-made ring. Both Dash and Danny relaxed and turned to face the angry teacher. With a vicious smirk at Danny, Dash turned towards Lancer and put on a shocked expression.

"I don't know what happened, Mr. Lancer! I was just walking along and Danny punched me in the nose for no reason." Lancer glared at Danny and returned his gaze to Dash.

"Mr. Baxter, head to the nurse at once to have your nose checked. As for you, Mr. Fenton," the teacher said dangerously, eyes returning to Danny, "you'll be serving double detention with me this afternoon, and you'll have detention every day next week as well." With that, Lancer marched off, pointedly ignoring Sam and Tucker's cries of protest. Tucker shot the old man a dirty look.

"Man that is so unfair! He didn't even check to see if Dash was telling the truth!" Danny nodded agreement, but seemed to be smiling.

"Yeah, but that was totally worth it! I've wanted to do that for a long time!" Grinning, Danny turned to his friends, who smiled in response. "Did you see the look on Dash's face?" Sam grinned.

"Did you see his _nose_?" At this, all three friends shared a happy laugh, and walked off to Lancer's room together.

That day at lunch, Danny Sam Tucker and Valerie all sat down together at their usual table. After a discrete glance over at Dash, who was now wearing heavy bandages over his face, Val chuckled and shot Danny an appreciative smile.

"I'm glad you finally decked him, Danny. He's had it coming for months." Sam snorted.

"More like _years_. Still, I'm glad you agree, Valerie." The two shared a genuine smile, and Val turned back to Danny.

"Still, why now?" Danny just shrugged.

"I've got a lot of things on my mind right now, and I just decided to get rid of one of them." The hybrid turned towards the huntress and regarded her nervously. "Speaking of that; about the double date…" Valerie held up her hand, looking every bit as nervous, all the while shooting side glances at Tucker.

"Me first. I'm really sorry, guys, but something came up. I can't go. Sorry Tucker." Danny frowned; pretty sure he knew what 'came up.'

"That's…okay, Val. What's up?" Valerie looked panicked, but when she answered her voice was steady.

"I can't really talk about it. But I wouldn't cancel unless it was really important. I promise." Now sure, but unable to stop her, Danny just nodded.

"Yeah. Okay, Val. Just…be careful, alright?" Valerie shot Danny a strange look at that comment, but finally stood up and walked away with Tucker to talk alone. Sam turned back to her boyfriend and grimaced.

"She's going to try and crash the fight with Vlad. You know that, right?" Danny nodded.

"Don't worry, Sam. No one can get into the docks but me. She'll be safe, and so will my secret." The bell rang in the distance, and Danny looked over at his girlfriend. "I won't see you the rest of the day, and I'll have to go to the docks after detention." Quickly, he stepped close and gave her a kiss. "See you later." With that, Danny jogged off to his next class, Ghost-Suckers turning violently to follow his progress. Sam just stood there, feeling her lips as he hurried off.

"I hope so."

LINELINELINELIENLINELINELINELINELINELINELINE

Valerie cut her last class so she wouldn't have to run into Tucker. They had had their first big fight that day at lunch. He seemed to know somehow that she was doing something dangerous. Did he know? She honestly couldn't say. But the fight for the future of Amity Park was set to take place in just two hours, and she wasn't going to miss it for anything. She didn't trust any ghost, not Phantom, not the strange blue one. All she had to do was sneak into the docks when the barrier dropped. She could lay in wait until the battle played itself out, and fly in to take out the winner. Some people saw Phantom as a hero, and others looked to the blue ghost as a savior. But Valerie knew better, and she wasn't going to just sit back and let some ghost take over her town. Face set in a determined glare; the young huntress suited up and flew off to the warehouse district.

LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE

After Jazz got off school, she looked around for Danny. After searching for him for fifteen minutes, the older girl shrugged and went to her car.

"He probably wants to spend some extra time with Sam." Eyes filled with worry, Jazz quietly drove home. Once there, she saw her mother and father checking the weapons in their suits, serious expressions on their faces. "Hey mom, dad. What are you doing?" Not even looking up, Maddie answered her daughter.

"We're going to sneak into the docks and watch the fight." Jazz raised her eyebrows.

"You're going to _watch_ the fight?" Looking confused, Jack nodded. Maddie continued.

"This whole thing has your father and I very confused Jazz. In-, Phantom doesn't really have a good reputation, but we've _seen_ the Wisconsin Ghost in action, and we know he's evil. Your father and I are going to slip into the docks when he drops the barrier to let Phantom in, and listen. Hopefully, we can use what we hear to figure out what's really going on." Jazz put on a calm expression, all the while panicking inside. If her parents went, they might find out more than that!

"Umm, why would you want to do that? Can't you just take my word for it? Phantom's good." Maddie frowned.

"Just yesterday you and Danny said we shouldn't trust people's words; that we should judge for ourselves. Your father and I are going to judge. End of discussion." Groaning inwardly, Jazz turned to them in determination.

"Take me with you." Both parents looked at her in surprise.

"Now Jazzy-pants," Jack began, only to be interrupted by his suddenly forceful daughter.

"Look. I have an interest in this too. I'm going. You can take me, or I can drive myself and sneak in on my own. But if you take me, you can protect me if things go wrong." Sagging in defeat, her parents reluctantly agreed, and the three took off immediately for the docks.

LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE

At the end of the day, Danny finished up sorting all of Lancer's books and quickly started walking home. It was getting late. After Lancer's double detention, he only had twenty minutes to reach the docks, and no way to get there without looking suspicious. Danny smirked as he realized that for all of Vlad's evil plotting, he'd forgotten to arrange transportation.

As if on cue, Danny suddenly felt a light, tingling sensation run through his body. Looking down, he realized a ghost had turned him transparent. Danny turned his head to look over his shoulder to see what ghost had grabbed him.

"Jeez, dipstick, you're kinda slow today. I'm invisible too." At this point Danny didn't need to see his captor, 'dipstick' was enough.

"Ember. You work for Vlad now?" The young singer groaned in response.

"It's a one-time thing, kid. That guy's seriously tough, but he's way old and totally creepy. I'm doin this because he paid me more than my last major gig did." Ember paused. "Don't get any funny ideas, though. I still don't like you; I'm just smart enough not to bug you unless there's a lot in it for me."

"Well, could you at least take me home first?" Ember shot him a funny look, then invisible her face hardened.

"No way, kid. Deal was that I take you straight from where I find you, fly to the dome, and hand you over to Dracula. After that, I'm out. He can pay me later." Danny sadly looked down at his pocket, and what would now be his only ghost weapon in the fight ahead.

"Great…"

The two passed on in silence for a while, but Ember stopped just before reaching the docks. The entire area was surrounded by a giant blue dome of energy. Suddenly, the blue dome flickered off, and Ember floated down, holding Danny by the collar. The two landed in a large clearing surrounded by large crates stacked at least two high. A moment later, the dome flickered back to life, and Vlad appeared before them.

LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE

Jazz Jack and Maddie fidgeted nervously outside the blue dome, waiting for it to drop.

"Where's the ghost kid?" Jack whined. "It's almost five."

Suddenly, the dome dropped. Not wasting one second, the Fentons ran forward as fast as they could, then slowed to a cautious crawl. Out of the corner of her eye, Jazz saw a red shape run inside just before the barrier reformed. Silently, Jazz tugged on her parents' sleeves and nodded her head to her right. Giving a silent okay, her parents followed their daughter to a high wall of crates.

A second later, they came upon Valerie, crouched behind a plank barrier between crates, her ear to the crack. A sudden snap from stray piece of wood under Jack's foot, and Valerie tensed, spinning around and charging up an ecto-weapon. Recognizing her targets, the huntress stood down.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She hissed. Maddie frowned at the girl.

"We could ask you the same thing."

"I asked you first." The huntress insisted. Jazz rolled her eyes.

"Look. My parents came to listen in on the fight and see where these ghosts' loyalties really lie. Why are _you_ here?" Valerie took a step back.

"_You_ think a _ghost_ could be on _our_ side? But they're _ghosts_! They're evil!" Maddie's frown deepened.

"Jack and I always thought so, too. But these two are behaving very strangely. We need more information." Valerie's eyes narrowed.

"Fine. But once they prove that they're evil, you need to help me take them down." Jazz stepped forward angrily.

"Phantom isn't evil, Valerie. Vlad is." The other three stared in shock. Jazz gasped, and covered her mouth.

"Vlad?" asked Jack, scratching his head.

"_Valerie Gray_?" Maddie stared at the red huntress.

"You _knew_?" Valerie asked accusingly. Jazz groaned, massaging her temples.

"Okay, in order. The Wisconsin Ghost calls himself Vlad Plasmius, yes that's Valerie Gray, and yes, I've known for a long time." Valerie looked slightly panicked.

"Who else knows?" Jazz kept her voice even.

"Danny found out a while ago. Tucker and Sam know, too." Valerie leaned back against a crate in shock. Maddie paused thoughtfully.

"Vlad Plasmius, hmm? Well, I suppose he does look like a vampire, though the name seems unoriginal." Jazz smirked.

"Yeah, the name is _definitely_ unoriginal…" At this point Maddie seemed to remember Valerie, and turned towards the young girl.

"And what about you? Does your father know about this, young lady?" Valerie looked back steadily.

"No. But let's save that for later. We're both here for a reason, let's get back to it."

After a pause, Jack and Maddie both nodded. The three went over to the thin plank barriers between the larger crates and pressed their heads up to listen. After a nervous shudder, Jazz went over to join them; already going over explanations for anything they might hear.

LINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINELINE

"Thank you, Ember. You may go now." Keeping his eyes on Danny, Vlad pulled a small device out of his pocket and flipped a switch. A swirling ghost portal appeared in midair and Ember took off through it. Immediately after her departure, Vlad turned off the portal and crushed the small device in his fist. "Costly, but I'm not going to risk you getting your hands on it." Danny faced his arch-enemy, almost weaponless and completely powerless.

"Let's go."


	16. Conclusions

Hi.

This is it, the last chapter, the epic fight between good and evil, et cetera ad infinitum. In other words, the end is near.

Much love to everyone who has ever reviewed this story, ever. Here's a shout, in the order of you first reviews:

Icepaw, Arabic Blessing, Queen S of Randomness 016, Meagainsttheworld, Horselvr4evr123, Idiots Unite, The Demon Inside, Writer's-BlockDP, Esme Kali Phantom, Epona Harper, HikaruOfArrow, Ummari the Cranky, Id Pendemus, lightanddarklove, Funkatron, fan-girls2.0, Kantix Gabriel, acosta parez jose ramiro, Leah Fenton, Kuro Tori, Diamond Raider, Tornada Silverwind, and AirGirl Phantom.

Thank you all very very much. I enjoyed writing this a great deal, but you're what made it fun. I had such a good time that I'm already starting on a sequel. More on that later, though.

Enjoy!

HiddenAuthor

Chapter 16 – Conclusions

With a feral scream, Danny threw himself at his ghostly foe. Smirking, Vlad simply phased through the punch and floated behind his opponent, laughing coldly as his momentum caused him to stumble forward and fall to the ground.

"Oh please, Daniel. Don't tell me that you did not even bring a weapon to this battle." Panting and wincing at the pain from the fall, Danny turned to face his opponent. An idea slowly formed in his head. The young hybrid put on a grim face.

"I was held up. You want a challenge, give me my powers back." Vlad grinned.

"Only if you surrender." Anger flashing across his face, Danny stood up and settled into a fighting stance.

"Never." Noting his position, Vlad chuckled.

"Do you honestly expect me to engage you hand to hand?" The evil ghost floated into the air and started throwing ecto-blasts. Panting and wincing with every other step, Danny ran back and forth, dodging the red bolts and trying to reach the lipstick tube in his pocket. "This is _much_ more fun."

"Coward!" Danny shouted up at the evil madman, looking franticly around the makeshift arena for anything to use as a shield. Vlad simply grinned wider, and split in two.

"Let's see if you can dodge at this speed."

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From behind the barrier, Maddie Jack and Valerie all listened in shock.

"Phantom lost his powers? How?" Jazz debated answering, but then Jack spoke up.

"I don't understand it. If the ghost kid is powerless, why'd he come?" Valerie looked uncomfortable, but spoke up angrily.

"I-it's probably some sort of trick! That ghost's a liar, and he fights dirty!" Jazz shot the huntress a glare, but forced a calm smile.

"Let's continue listening, shall we?" Nodding, the others quickly replaced their ears on the plank-work, and Jazz followed.

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"Ahhh!" Danny fell to the side, instinctively clutching a smoldering burn on his arm. From high above, Vlad chuckled evilly. Turning his fall into a side roll, Danny finally managed to jam his free hand into his pocket and pull out the Fenton Lipstick. Quickly activating the green weapon slash accessory, the overmatched hybrid took careful aim and nailed his tormentor right between the eyes.

"Ow!" Blinking the spots out of his burning eyes, Plasmius fell backwards in midair and came to rest slightly above the ground. "You little rat! You lied about the weapons so I'd give you your powers back!" The evil ghost grinned. "Well it didn't work, did it? You're just as powerless as ever." Danny's face hardened.

"I may be powerless, but I still have great aim."

Charging up the lipstick, Danny took another shot at his foe. This time, however, Vlad easily dodged, flying in quickly and dealing a savage upper-cut. Danny flew backwards and crashed into a crate, the lipstick falling from his numbed fingers. With a single ecto-blast, Masters reduced the annoying device to smoking ash. The young ghost looked at the smudge where his weapon once laid and crumpled to the floor, to hurt to stand. Vlad chuckled wickedly and stood before his fallen victim.

"You actually thought you could win. You thought that being the ghost in charge of Amity Park would keep your enemies out forever? That you could actually _protect_ these people? Well, Daniel, you were sadly mistaken. I need only capture you and this city will name me hero. Despite your best efforts to make them understand you, to make them see how much you wanted to help them, they will always hate you; they will always remember you as the darkest villain in their history. And once a year has past, I can wrest control of the city from you once and for all, and you'll never be able to come back to save them!" Vlad grinned down at Danny, hate and pleasure mixed in his eyes. "In time, even you may come to see me as a hero, as the father you've always wanted. We'll rule the human world and ghost zone together, side by side as father and son." Danny's eyes shot up, and Vlad took a step back in surprise as they flashed bright green.

"I. Am. Not. Your. SON!" Danny shouted in fury, floating off the ground and shooting sparks of green energy. Vlad stared as Danny, without even concentrating, immediately shifted to his ghost form. The villain seemed completely taken aback.

"How can you be using your powers? I disabled them!"

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Jazz listened through the plank-work and watched her parents' reactions. During Vlad's victorious rant, Jack and Maddie's eyes filled with shock, guilt, and anger. Valerie simply seemed lost.

"I don't get it. Why would a ghost even care?" Jazz shook her head.

"Because," she said, shooting a pointed look at her parents, "he's good." Numbly, both older Fentons nodded their agreement. A moment later, she heard a loud yell on the other side of the plank and quickly listened in. _'How can you be using your powers? I disabled them_!'

"What?" Jazz asked herself. "Danny's powers? But how could-" The teen gasped. "The charge! Danny's built up a huge energy charge, and it's shorting out the Maximus! And if six hours' charge shatters a mirror, and seven blew me backwards…" Jazz's eyes widened.

"Everyone! Back away from the crates and get down!" Reacting almost instinctively, all four spectators threw themselves to the floor, as an incredibly lour roar filled their ears.

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A massive pulse of green light shot out from Danny's body and rippled heavily towards the edges of the arena. Vlad was blown backwards into a crate on the opposite wall and fell into a crouch. Above their heads, the human and ghost shield flickered and died. Everywhere around the edges, the large boxes, crates, and planks that composed the makeshift barrier exploded and shot outwards, exposing four spectators behind Vlad and to his left.

Danny's violently glowing eyes widened as he recognized friends and family. After what they'd heard, he'd have to win fast if they had any hope of staying alive. The young ghost concentrated fiercely on holding onto every ounce of the unnaturally high energy his charge had left him. Standing strait, Danny slowly marched across the arena to face his rapidly recovering foe, green flames dancing above his footprints as he walked.

Vlad brushed splinters from his shoulder and glared at his approaching enemy. "You may have your powers back boy, but I'll always be two steps ahead. I've had these powers for years. I have age. I have experience. I have _these_." At this, Vlad separated into four and spread out to flank his opponent. A small smile breaking through his intense expression, Danny split himself as well, matching Vlad exactly. Masters stared in shock.

"How did you…No matter!" He cut himself off, merging back into one and floating up. "Duplication or not, I am still more powerful than-"

Danny teleported behind Vlad's back and dealt a savage backhand blow to his skull. The older ghost shot down and crashed with enough force to shatter the concrete. Not finished, the younger ghost teleported right up to him and tossed him into the air.

"You may have age…" Danny spun into a round house kick and nailed Vlad in the chest as he fell. He quickly teleported behind his opponent and punched him again.

"You may have experience…" Flying quickly around his stunned opponent, Danny grabbed him by the collar and slammed him to the ground.

"But you'll never have me, _or_ this town, or _anyone_ who lives here. And do you know why, Vlad?" With that, Danny lifted Vlad back up into the air and tossed him towards the docks.

"Because you're. Not. Welcome!" Sucking back a deep breath, Danny unleashed the ghostly wail. Energy poured out and rocketed Vlad's prone floating form off the coast and into the bay. Greatly weakened, having used up all of the extra energy he had managed to hold, Danny slowly sank back to the ground and watched the water wearily, concentrating fiercely on staying in ghost form.

Moments later, Vlad shot out of the water, spluttering. His eyes burned with rage and pain as he focused on the young half-ghost. Leveling off, the older ghost floated back towards shore, cloak billowing ominously behind him.

"I have tried to make you my ally. I have tried to make you my son. Well no more! You have crossed me for the last time! You shall not stand between me and this city any longer!" Charging up his hands with as much energy as possible, Vlad flew forward at full speed.

And crashed into an invisible barrier. Chuckling filled the area, echoing off the surrounding buildings. Danny and the four hunters looked around in confusion as Vlad rubbed his aching head. A brief second later, a strange glowing watch hand appeared in midair and spun in a circle, revealing –

"Clockwork?" Danny said incredulously, staring at the blue ghost. Smiling, Clockwork turned to face Danny.

"You know the funny thing about coastal cities? The water is technically outside their limits." The older ghost turned towards Vlad. "You aren't welcome in Amity any more. So long as Danny remains to protect them, you'll never hurt these people again. And," Clockwork said, raising a finger and grinning wickedly, "for attempting to violate ghost law and break in without an invitation, it is my solemn duty to administer justice. You'll be coming with me." After a brief wink to Danny, Clockwork grabbed a very worried-looking Vlad Plasmius and the two ghosts vanished.

Danny thought for a moment about what kind of 'justice' could be waiting for his arch enemy and laughed out loud. Then, remembering the formerly captive audience, he flew off as fast as he could, leaving behind four very confused hunters.

Danny got home only a few minutes later. Looking up at the clock, he saw with a thrill of pleasure that it was only six o'clock. Phasing through furniture in his haste, he rushed to the phone and dialed Sam.

"Hello?" Sam's voice came through the other end, sounding tired, sad, and worried. Grinning from ear to ear, Danny answered.

"Hey beautiful. Miss me?" Danny chuckled as he heard the shocked gasp through the phone.

"Danny! You're okay!" Sam's voice became threatening. "This BETTER be the first thing you've done since you got back!" Gulping, Danny hurried to answer.

"Yes! It is, I swear! That charge thing I've been getting shorted out the Plamius Maximus. I managed to throw Vlad out of town. Literally." Grinning, Danny continued. "We won't have to worry about him for a long, long time. But that's not the only reason I called. It's still just six. If you want, we can still make the dance." The hybrid listened intently, desperately hoping she still wanted to go out after such a huge scare.

"Let's not." Danny's face fell. "I'd rather just go to dinner. Who needs all the noise and pressure at the dance? After all this, I just want to spend time with you." Blushing slightly and shaking in relief, Danny nodded. Then, remembering Sam couldn't see him, he answered.

"Yeah. That sounds nice, Sam. Pick you up at seven?"

"Seven? Why so late?" Danny scratched his neck nervously.

"There might be something I have to do here, first." There was a brief pause.

"Sure, Danny. Still with you in spirit." Danny smiled into the phone.

"Yeah, I know. See you at seven." Hanging up, Danny quickly dialed Tucker.

He'd just finished talking to Tucker when his parents came walking in the front door, Jazz bringing up the rear. Maddie shot Danny a confused look.

"Hi, Danny. It's good to see you, but didn't you have a date with Sam tonight?" Danny nodded, trying to control his nervous stomach.

"Yeah, but we had to push it back to seven. Where were you guys?" He asked conversationally, praying his voice didn't give him away. His parents frowned.

"We went to the docks to watch the fight. We snuck in when Vlad – That's what the Wisconsin Ghost calls himself – let the shield down." Jack smiled. "We learned a lot of really cool stuff." Maddie nodded.

"It looks like you and Jazz were right about the ghost boy. Invis-, I mean, Phantom has been protecting our town this whole time. We still don't really understand how, or even why. But we trust him." From behind their backs, Jazz beamed.

Grinning from ear to ear, despite his nerves, Danny looked at his parents. "You do?" They both nodded, Jack grinning back. Their son gulped, then continued, a huge smile on his face.

"Mom? Dad? There's something I want to tell you."

END!

-Cue the ending screen and theme music from Star Wars.

More Author Stuff:

Well, that's that. I hope you liked it. Sometimes Danny's life can get pretty complicated, but things always seem to work out. But what happened to Vlad? How will his parents react? What does Valerie think about the ghost boy? Will Sam and Danny have Italian or French!

For answers to these questions and much more, I encourage you to keep your eyes out for an up and coming sequel, "Exceptions." That is all.

PEACE OUT!

HiddenAuthor

P.S. To anyone even remotely interested in suing me, _I don't own anything in this story that I haven't previously disclaimed._ So leave me alone. :P


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